


The Celestial Ranger

by BringerofDarkness



Series: The Celestial Ranger [1]
Category: Fairy Tail, Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: Adventure, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-27
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2018-04-06 12:00:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 35,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4220949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BringerofDarkness/pseuds/BringerofDarkness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the battle against Acnologia, Fairy Tail’s founder, Mavis Vermillion, casts the ultimate fairy magic, Fairy Sphere, to protect the Fairy Tail members on the island. However, she decides to do a little something extra with everyone’s favorite celestial mage. She puts her in another dimension and leaves her in the care of one the most legendary Rangers in Araluen. Can Halt handle the boisterous mage? Can Lucy handle the rigors of being a Ranger’s apprentice? How will Halt handle having two energetic apprentices?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Fairy Tail or Rangers Apprentice.

Halt was at the annual Ranger’s gathering. He had decided that at this year’s Choosing, he would present Will, to whose father he owed his life, a chance to become his apprentice. He was speaking with Corps Commander Crowley when he and the other Ranger’s heard the giggling of a young girl behind them.

They whirled around to look at the little girl who had decided to perch on the large center tent. She swung her legs back and forth as she smiled cheerfully. She had dark green eyes and pale blonde hair reaching almost to her ankles, with wing-like ornaments on either side of her head. She had a very pale complexion and she wore a loose white dress with pink and white patterns on the upper half. There seemed to be an almost unearthly glow about her.

“Hello there!” Gilan greeted in his usual cheerful manner. “Are you lost?”

The girl giggled. “Nope. I’m right where I want to be!” she said cheerfully.

“How did you find this place?” Halt questioned, decidedly less cheerful than his former apprentice.

The girl put her index finger on her chin as she tilted her head in thought. “I suppose . . . I just appeared here!” she said, giggling again at the last part. She stood up and stepped off the tent, startling the Rangers, and then shocking them as she floated down to land safely and gently on the ground.

“ . . . What . . . are you?” asked Crowley.

She tilted her head again before speaking. “Something like . . . a spirit?”

“Well, what the hell do you want?!” Halt demanded.

The others stared at him in shock. They weren’t superstitious in the least, but they knew that you shouldn’t anger a spirit, even if it looked like a harmless little girl. However, instead of being angered, the girl just giggled again.

“I’m glad you asked.” She gestured with her right hand to the air beside her. 

As if on cue, a large golden orb appeared. Inside it was a young woman of 15 or 16 with golden blonde hair that hung past her shoulders. Her clothes, which revealed way too much by Halt’s standards, or rather the standards of anyone that wasn’t looking for a whore, were torn and the girl herself had numerous bandages. At her hip was a belt that had whip, a cylinder with a small star hanging from on end, and a leather pouch from which several keys could be seen. Aside from the torn clothes and bandages, the girl was also covered in multiple scratches and bruises. On the back of her right hand was a pink tattoo. 

“I would like you to take care of her. Rather, I would like you to make her as your apprentice, Halt.” the girl said, smiling expectantly at Halt.

Halt let out a short bark of laughter, a laughter that didn’t reach his eyes. “And why would I do that?” he asked, his gaze turned hard. 

“Well, considering she’s from an entirely different dimension, you don’t have to worry about any secrets getting out. She’s also quite strong, when given the chance to prove herself. And very resourceful. Your little group may find her to extremely useful.” the girl said.

As she spoke, the orb drifted down and laid the girl gently on the ground before disappearing.

“Even so, I already have an apprentice in mind.” Halt said.

“A girl like her needs to be taught by the best. And you Halt, are arguably the best Ranger, next to the commander of course. Don’t worry, she doesn’t mind sharing.” said the girl with her now signature smile. Then, with a flash of light, she disappeared, leaving the Rangers to decide to do with the blonde girl.

Or at least that’s what seemed. A few moments later, the kid returned and placed a stack of papers next to her. “She’ll need these. But don’t read them!” she said sternly. She smiled again. “Bye-bye.” Then she left again.

“Okay, would someone mind telling me what just happened?” said Gilan.

Crowley sighed. “Believe me, your guess is as good as mine.”

“Well, a little girl just showed up, claimed she’s a spirit from another dimension, dropped a girl, also from another dimension, onto me for babysitting duty, then disappeared, leaving a bunch a papers we’re not supposed to read.” said Halt unhumorously.

“Remember when things made sense? Yeah, me neither.” Gilan joked.

“Then apparently you have an extremely short memory.” said Halt. “More importantly what are we going to do with her?” he asked, nodding towards the girl.

Ten minutes later, Crowley and Halt were having a private discussion, with the subject of their discussion behind them, lying on Crowley’s cot. To be fair, it wasn’t really a discussion. Crowley was pacing the length of his tent while Halt stood quietly, waiting for Crowley to make his decision.

Finally, after a few more minutes of pacing, he said, “I think you should do it.”

“Do what?” 

“Make her your apprentice.” Crowley replied.

“What?!” Halt exclaimed.

“I’m just saying, perhaps we should humor the spirit. If the girl poses a danger, then who better to watch her than you? Also, it might interesting to have a female Ranger, if she makes it that far.”

Halt let out an exasperated sigh. “And what about Will?”

“The boy? There’s always the chance he won’t accept your offer, and if he does, you can let another Ranger train him.”

“No! If he’s willing to become a Ranger, I will be the one to train him. I owe him that much. And his father.”

Crowley nodded, aware of what Will’s father had done for Halt. “I thought so.” he said. Then he grabbed the papers that had been left by the spirit and began to read them as he waited for Halt to think about the situation that had been forced upon him and make his decision.

With a heavy sigh, Halt said, “Fine, I’ll take her on as my apprentice.”


	2. Chapter One

It was about an hour later when the girl started to wake up. Halt had left to get her some decent clothes, leaving Crowley to watch her while he read the papers, which turned out to be a rather interesting and entertaining story. He was engrossed in his reading when he heard a sleepy groan, causing him to look up.

The girl was slowly sitting up. One hand came up to gingerly rub the side of her head. The confusion was evident in her warm, chocolate brown, eyes as she took in her surroundings. Then her gaze fell onto him.

“Good to see you’re awake.” Crowley greeted.

The girl’s eyes widened in panic and fear. “Who are you?! Where am I!? What is this place!? Where are my friends!?” she said, her hand going to the keys to her belt.

‘Odd, wouldn’t going for the whip be a better idea if she felt threatened?’ thought Crowley. “Okay, okay. It’s alright. You have every reason to be concerned, just calm down a bit. Alright, let’s start from the beginning. I’m Crowley, you’re in my tent. This place is where the Rangers, which I’m the head of, are having our annual meeting, and I have no idea where your friends are.” He took a deep breath. “There, does that answer all your questions?”

The girl relaxed a bit. “How . . . did I get here?”

“I’ll take that as a no. Let’s see, apparently you’re from another dimension and you were dropped off here by a spirit. Are you still following me?”

The girl didn’t seem surprised. “Yeah.” Noticing Crowley’s confusion at her lack of surprise, she elaborated. “I’ve been to another dimension before. A parallel one actually. Hmm, I wonder if there’s another version of me here?” the girl said thoughtfully.

“So, you mind telling me your name?”

“Eh? Oh, it’s Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia.” Her gaze fell on the papers in Crowley’s hands and her eyes widened in recognition, and then in horror.

Faster than should have been possible, Lucy had gone from the cot to right in front of Crowley and snatched the papers from him. Crowley stared at her stunned as she hugged the papers to her chest, panting and blushing furiously.  
“Why were you reading this?!” she said, her voice haven risen a few octaves.

“It was just something that was dropped off with you. Why? It’s actually not a bad story.” said Crowley, confused at her actions.

Lucy’s blush deepened. “You idiot! It’s not even finished! And I promised Levy she’d be the first one to read it!”

Now it started to make sense. Needless to say, he was pleasantly surprised at the realization. “You wrote that?” he asked, indicating the papers still being held tightly to her chest.

Again, Lucy’s blush deepened. “S-so what if I did.”

Crowley shrugged in response. “Just a little surprised. Also, I feel you should know, the spirit that brought you here wanted you to be apprentice to our best Ranger, and he has agreed to train you."

Lucy seemed startled. “The best? Why would anyone request the best to teach me anything?”

Crowley saw it now. Lucy seemed to have an issue with self-confidence. Then he remembered something the spirit had said. “Maybe because you deserve a chance to prove you strength.”

She thought about that for a few moments. “What do Rangers do?” she asked.

Crowley chuckled. “You’re inquisitive. That’s a good trait for a Ranger. What Ranger’s do, is watch over the going’s on in our respective fiefs. Make sure the knights are trained properly, make sure the barons aren’t doing anything nefarious, and take care of troublemakers, bandits and the like.”

Lucy brightened. “That doesn’t sound so bad. I supposed it’s not too different from what I was doing before.”

Interested, Crowley leaned forward. “Really? You were doing this sort of thing before?”

“Well, at least the bandit part.” said Lucy. “I’m in a mage guild called Fairy Tail, my team and I would pick jobs to go on to get reward money.”

At that moment Halt returned. “Good, you’re up.” He tossed some clothes to her, which she caught. “Put some proper clothes on, you look like a harlot.” he said, abandoning tact.

Lucy’s eyes narrowed and a chill ran down Crowley’s spine at her expression. “I’m sorry, but what did you just say?”  
Halt sighed. “Oh good, it appears my new apprentice is hard of hearing. I said—,” Halt cut off as he turned around and saw Lucy’s expression. He wisely amended the sentence he had almost said. He gulped nervously. “Eh heh, what I actually said was, you should change your clothes because . . . your current ones are torn!”

She looked down. “Huh, I guess they are.”

The two men let out sighs of relief. They hear Lucy tapping her foot. They turned to see her impatient expression. “Well? Go on, out! I’m not changing with you two in here!”

Realizing their blunder, they rushed out of the tent. Crowley turned to his old friend. “I don’t envy you for having to deal with her.”

“No kidding. Did you tell her?”

“Yes.”

“How’d she take the news?”

“Quite well actually. Apparently, this isn’t the first time she’s been in another dimension.”

“Oh, good to know.” said Halt.

“Hey Halt!” Gilan greeted as he approached the two. “Has our sleeping beauty woken up?”

“Unfortunately. Crowley, what were those papers?” asked Halt.

“Nothing really. It was quite an interesting story. But that’s all it was. It’s a book she’s writing. She was quite upset that I had read it. Apparently she’s promised a friend of hers that she’s be the first to read it.” said Crowley with some amusement.

“So she’s an author?” asked Halt.

“Of sorts, I suppose. The book’s not finished.” Crowley replied.

“Does she have name?” asked Gilan.

“Her name’s Lucy Heartfilia.” he said. “And I have some good news for you Halt. The girl’s inquisitive. Not only that, put she’s also used to fighting. She seems quite pleased with idea of being a Ranger.”

Halt sighed. “Well at least there’s that.”

“Yeah, but weren’t you going to take Will an apprentice?” asked Gilan.

“Yes, and I still am.” said Halt.

Behind them, the men heard the tent flaps rustle and Lucy stepped out, wearing a simple dark green dress with slightly trailing sleeves and a brown cloak fastened around her shoulders. She had her belt fastened loosely at her hips. “You know, I can hear you three pretty well. Tents aren’t exactly the most sound-proof of structures.” She turned to Halt. “So . . . I guess you’re going to be my mentor?”

“Unfortunately for both of us, yes.” Halt replied. 

Lucy frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Gilan laughed, “Don’t worry, you’ll see soon enough.”


	3. Chapter Two

Lucy was riding double with Halt, though neither of them particularly enjoyed it. To be quite honest, Lucy was kind of pissed that she had to share such a close proximity to, as she put it, such a cranky old man. To Halt’s annoyance, she made sure that he was well aware of her displeasure. Finally, he’d had enough of her grumblings and half muttered complaints.

“Would you shut up for ten minutes!” he hissed. “All I’ve heard for the last three days is your whining and complaining! I’m not exactly happy about riding double with you either, but given the situation, there’s simply no other option. Now, save your breath, and me a migraine, and just deal with it!”

There was a few moments of silence before Lucy said anything. When she finally did speak, what she said surprised Halt, who had been expecting a snappy remark. 

“Sorry.” she said sincerely in a quiet voice. “I’m being . . . spoilt aren’t I?”

Halt felt a little bad for scolding her, but not by much. “Yes. That’d be one way to put it.”

He heard Lucy sigh behind him. “I’m . . . not usually this bothersome.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Halt said in his usual manner.

There was another few moments of silence before Lucy spoke again. “I guess I’m just used to it being this quiet. Natsu and Gray were always causing a ruckus whenever we had to travel on foot for a job. Natsu would be too sick to fight with Gray if we were traveling any other way . . . “ she trailed off, sounding homesick.

“I asked you to be quiet, not for your life’s story.” Halt said curtly.

However she was feeling before quickly evaporated, much to Halt’s relief. He felt her stiffen behind him. With an indignant “Hmph!” and a muttered, “Insensitive jerk,” she fell silent.

• • •

Two days later, it was still early in the morning when Redmont came into view. Halt felt a small swell of pride at Lucy’s gasp of amazement as the sight of Fort Redmont. He couldn’t help but stoke the fires a little.

“You think that’s impressive, you should see Araluen Castle.” he said before continuing towards the fort to report his arrival . . . and his newly acquired apprentice.

Upon their arrival, Halt was almost immediately admitted into Baron Arald’s office. The said man had been doing some tedious paperwork when Halt came in with Lucy. So needless to say, when he heard the door open to admit Halt and Lucy, it was a welcome distraction.

“Halt!” he said cheerily, standing up to greet his old friend. “How are you?”

“As well as can be expected. Lucy, this is Baron Arald. Arald, this is Lucy Heartfilia.” Halt said as he introduced the two.

“Oh, pleased to meet you Baron,” said Lucy, surprising both the men with a graceful curtsey.

“Ah yes, Pleased to meet you too, Miss Heartfilia. Halt, forgive me if this may seem untoward, but why have brought this young lady back with you when you left for a meeting?” 

“She’s my apprentice.” Halt said. Baron Arald stared at Halt then started laughing. Lucy’s face reddened slightly in anger and Halt just raised his eyebrow. “Is there something amusing, sir?”

Baron Arald stopped laughing for a few moments, but he was still grinning. “I didn’t know you were capable of making   
jokes!” he replied.

“It’s not a joke.” Halt said very seriously.

Arald seemed to realize that Halt was being perfectly serious. “But . . . she’s a girl!”

“What’s that got to do with anything?!” Lucy asked indignantly. “As long as you have the potential and the strength it shouldn’t matter what gender you are!”

Halt shot a glance at Lucy. The girl was certainly different. “She had a point. It wasn’t so long ago that it was unthinkable for a woman to be a Courier, but Lady Pauline seems to have smashed those beliefs. I’d say she does her job quite well.”

“Yes, she does . . . but this is different! I mean, a female Ranger?!”

“I’m right here you know!” Lucy protested, starting to get irritated. 

“I believe she may be capable. If she’s not, then she will cease to be my apprentice. It’s as simple as that.” said Halt. 

Arald sighed. “I suppose we’ll see how it turns out.”

“Indeed.” Halt said.

Their business concluded, Halt and Lucy got back on Abelard and Halt headed towards the small cottage he resided in. When it came into view, Lucy let out a small squeal of delight. “You okay back there?” Halt asked.

Instead of answering the question, she responded with, “Oh! That little cottage is so cute! I wonder who lives there?” the last part had been said in an undertone.

“I live there, and you will too.” said Halt.

That seemed to put a damper on her mood. “You mean, we’ll be . . . living . . . together? In the same house?” Lucy asked, sounding scandalized.

“Yes. There’s two bedrooms. I will treat you no differently than I would if you were a boy.” 

“But I’m a girl!” she exclaimed.

Halt reined in Abelard by the stables. He dismounted and looked up at her. “Really? And I could have sworn you were a boy.” he said in mock surprise.

Lucy threw him a glare that told him he should be a little more careful about what he said. She slid down Abelard’s side and stretched. “Ahhh! It feels good to be on my feet!” she said, bouncing from one foot to the other to get some feeling back in her legs. “It’s still early yet, when do I start training?” she asked him as he led Abelard into the stables to rub him down and give him some fresh water.

“Oh, not for awhile yet.” Halt said dismissively.

Lucy gave him a confused look. “Eh? Why? Is there some kind of test I have to pass first?”

Instead of answering, Halt finished tending to Abelard. He was still thinking about that curtsey from earlier. It wasn’t from natural grace, that much he could tell. Since then he began noticing other things about his new apprentice as well. She had a very good posture, he had noticed this before but it didn’t really hold any significance to him until now. The way she had whined and complained about having to ride double with him raised another red flag. Were it not for this, he might have assumed she may have been some sort of Lady’s maid or servant at some point, however, her complaining ruled out this possibility. Next was her reaction to the cottage. It was a quaint home, you couldn’t really complain about it, but an ordinary person would never call it “cute”.

Lucy glared at Halt when he didn’t answer her, but she had learned over the past few days of traveling with him that if he didn’t wish to say something, he wouldn’t say it, no matter how much she pestered. More than once, she had been half-tempted to attempt to use her “sex-appeal” technique on him, not that it’s ever worked in the past. So she just kept quiet and followed him into the cottage.

He sat down at a small table that had two chairs and Lucy took a seat across from him, waiting with no small amount of impatience for him to say something. However, what he said when he finally spoke startled her.

He set his steel-hard eyes on her, making her feel as if he could see straight through her very soul and said, “Are you a noblewoman, or a Lady by any chance?”

Lucy paled and nearly jumped out of her chair at the question. She frantically waved her hands in front of her as she replied. “No, no, no, no! Nothing like that! I-I have no idea where you’d get such a crazy idea from!” Even though her father’s business had gone bankrupt, her former status as being an heir to a very wealthy company was still something she would rather not have known about her.

Halt continued giving her that hard look for a few moments before making his reply to her denial. “You’re a very lousy liar.” he said sternly. He wasn’t angry at the fact that he had been correct in his assumption, but more in the fact that she had tried to lie to him about it. At the very least she had done it poorly. In Halt’s experience, when someone is bad at lying, it usually means they’re an honest person.

He watched as the girl’s face fell and her shoulder’s slumped. “Is it that obvious?”

Halt responded with a small inclination of his head. “Yes. Now I have another question, why did you try to lie about it?”

Lucy grasped her hands together nervously. “Well, my father was a very wealthy merchant and he owned his own company. When I was growing up, I didn’t see him much, he was always cooped up in his office doing paperwork. It . . . got even worse after mom died. When I got older, he started talking to me about marriage, and how important it was that I had a son to carry on the business. There was times where I wondered if that’s all he saw me as, a way to an heir. But, I didn’t want an arranged marriage, I wanted to be able to marry for love. So, when I was 15, I took some money and ran away so I could join Fairy Tail.

“I didn’t usually tell anyone my last name because I didn’t want to be treated differently because I was Jude Heartfilia’s daughter. After I ran into Natsu, he took me to join Fairy Tail. Sometime after that, my father hired the dark guild Phantom Lord to take me back. Everyone at Fairy Tail fought to protect me, saying that I was part of their family and there was no way they were gonna let me be taken. Once we’d beaten them, I went back to apologize for running away, and I made my feelings clear to him. He accepted it, and he let me go. I guess that’s why I tried to hide it from you. The same reason I hid it before . . . I just want to be treated like a normal person.”

During her story, Halt had sat back in the chair. He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he felt a lot closer to her now. They had both ran away from prestigious lives, though for different reasons. He also felt he could respect her more for the mere fact she had returned. It must have taken a lot of courage.

She glanced up at him nervously, waiting for his reaction. She hadn’t meant to say so much, but once she had started, the words just kept coming out. Halt thought about her story, rolling it around a bit in mind.

“I suppose I should thank you for trusting me like this. I assure you, I’ll not treat you any differently. You are an apprentice ranger. No more, no less.” said Halt.

Lucy seemed relieved. Until Halt’s next words came out of his mouth. “And now for you first task as apprentice. Cleaning.” he declared, smirking inwardly as her jaw dropped in surprise.


	4. Chapter Three

Aside from some initial moaning and groaning, Lucy did not complain that much about the tasks Halt set her. The next week passed with Lucy doing all the chores and then cooking supper. The time in between was filled with geography, history, and tracking lessons. On her second day of being Halt’s apprentice, he took her to town to get her fitted the traditional ranger’s cloak, some plain brown leggings, shirts, and leather boots. During her lessons, Halt had found out that Lucy was quite intelligent and studious. He’d almost say that she was more suited for Scribeschool or Courier training, were it not for her temper.

It was the middle of the afternoon and Lucy had just finished stacking some wood when Halt came out of the cottage carrying a bundle.

“Lucy!” he called, making her look towards him from her stretching. He jerked his head towards the tree-line. “Come with me.” he said, heading towards the trees without about bothering to check to see if she was following. 

Sure enough, he heard her light jogging come up behind him. “Where are we going?” she asked.

Halt said nothing.

“Are you finally going to start training me?” Lucy continued.

Halt only gave her a non-committal grunt in response.

Lucy mockingly mimicked his grunt and fell silent. Halt didn’t have to look behind him to know she was scowling. They continued walking for about half an hour into the forest. When they stopped, Halt placed the bundle on the ground.

“You’re going to be learning about the weapons you’ll be using.” said Halt. 

He opened up the bundle to reveal a bow and two knives. Most of the bow followed one long curve like a normal longbow, but then each tip curved back in the opposite direction. The knives were in a double scabbard and set one above the other. The top knife was the shorter of the two. It had a thick, heavy grip made of a series of leather discs set one above the other. There was a brass crosspiece between the hilt and the blade and it had a matching brass pommel.

Halt picked up the bow. “This is called a recurve bow, it has less draw weight and less power than a longbow, but it serves it’s purpose. Go ahead and take a look at it.” he said, handing it to her.

She took it and examined it critically. “I think I’d feel better leaving the archery to Sagittarius.”

“Sagittarius?”

Lucy nodded. “He’s never missed anything yet.”

“And just who is this, Sagittarius?” asked Halt.

Lucy’s face lit up and she grabbed on of the keys attached to the small pouch at her waist. “Open, Gate of the Archer! I summon thee, Sagittarius!”

There was a flash of golden light, leaving a man standing in front of Lucy and facing Halt when the light faded. The man was wearing a ridiculous horse costume with some kind of green vest. On his back there was a full quiver of arrows, and in one hand was a finely crafted bow, he was saluting with the other hand.

“How can I help? Moshi, moshi.” he asked.

“What just happened?” asked a very confused Halt.

“Didn’t Crowley tell you? I’m a mage! A Celestial Mage to be specific. We can summon spirits from the celestial realm using keys. This is Sagittarius, one of my spirits.” said Lucy.

“Moshi, moshi.” Sagittarius added helpfully, still saluting.

“Yes, he told us you’d said you were a mage, he just didn’t tell me what kind. I was just under the assumption that you could shoot fireballs out of your hands.” Halt said, a little more harshly than he had intended.

“Fireballs? That usually not how fire magic works. I mean there are probably some fire mages who do shoot fireballs, but most don’t. That isn’t even in my area of magic. Fire magic is for ability types.” Lucy said.

Halt pinched the bridge of his nose, most of what Lucy had said going over his head.

“Miss Lucy, if there is nothing needed, may I go?” asked Sagittarius.

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Lucy pointed the key at him. “Gate close.” she said, making the spirit disappear.

Halt held out his hand. “Give me the keys.”

“What!” exclaimed Lucy, angling her key donned hip away from him, placing her hands protectively on the pouch.

“I don’t need you summoning spirits willy-nilly, god knows I have enough worries without that. The next thing you know, you’ll have an angry mob chasing you.”

“But . . . they’re my friends!”

“You’ll get them back.” Halt said, having no real intention to.

Ranger’s operated on stealth, and if the earlier demonstration was anything to go by, Lucy, or at least her magic, was not stealthy. And for some reason, he had the feeling that the spirits could be troublesome. He could see that Lucy was still very hesitant just hand over her keys without knowing when she would see them again.

“I promise I’ll keep them somewhere safe.” he said.

That seemed to tip the scale. Lucy slowly removed her keys and placed them in his hand. “Just . . . don’t drop them okay? Aquarius will kill me if her key is dropped again.”

“I’ll try not to,” Halt assured, putting the keys in his pocket. “Now,” he said, indicating the bow. “That bow design came from the Temujai.”

“The Temujai?” asked Lucy, the idea of learning something new putting any thoughts about her keys to the back of her mind.

“Yes. They’re fighting men from the east and are excellent archers.” Halt elaborated.

“Have you met any?”

Halt gave a curt nod. “I suppose you could say that.” He bent down again and picked up the double scabbard and unsheathed the longer one. “This is what you use when your enemy get’s too close, but hopefully he won’t get that close. It’s balanced for throwing but it’s strong enough to deflect a sword blow. It’s crafted by the kingdom’s finest weapon smiths, so take good care of it.” He put the knife back in it’s sheath and drew the shorter one. “This knife is designed for throwing, take good care of this one too.”

Finished with his explanation, he gave the scabbard to Lucy, who attached it to her belt.

“Can I try out the bow?” she asked.

Halt shrugged and took a quiver full of arrows out of the bundle. “If you think it’s a good idea.” he said, handing it to her.

She slung the quiver over her shoulder and took one out. She nocked the arrow and placing the arrow between two of her fingers, she stood sideways as she drew. It looked like she was about to fire when she suddenly relaxed the bow. “Wait! Won’t the string hit my arm?!” she exclaimed.

“It would.” Halt agreed.

“And you were just going to let me fire?!”

“I was.” Halt stated before he had to duck a rock that Lucy had thrown.

It was poor throw, more to vent some anger than out of any meaning of harm. But still, Halt hadn’t been expecting it. “What was that about?!”

“You jerk! You were going to let me injure myself! What kind of mentor are you!?” Lucy yelled, her temper flaring.

“I was trying to teach you that you shouldn’t rush into things.” Halt said nonchalantly, stomping down the urge to raise his own voice.

“There are other ways to do that!” Lucy growled. She threw her hands up in exasperation. “Whatever! Just . . . get me something to protect my arm. Please?”

Halt sighed in defeat and grabbed the last item from the bundle, a leather arm-guard. Lucy took it and fastened to her arm. She gave Halt one last glare before drawing the bow again.

Before she released, Halt stated, “You’re doing it wrong.”

“Huh?” Lucy asked surprised.

Again, Halt sighed. “I said, you’re doing it wrong. Hold the string with three fingers, not two.”

Lucy relaxed the string again so she could do as Halt said.

“You’re also drawing wrong. You’re only using your arm muscles, you need to use your shoulder muscles too.”

Lucy nodded and did as he said, using her arm and shoulder muscles to draw the bow and finding it easier to draw than before.

Halt had one last correction for her, though he waited a moment to say it. “Don’t hold the bow, it’ll throw off your shot. Just let it rest in your hand.”

Lucy nodded and loosened her grip on the bow. Aiming carefully for a tree, she drew a deep breath to help her relax. She took another deep breath and, as she exhaled, let the string slip through her fingers. The bow thrummed and the arrow flew true until it slammed into her target with a satisfying ‘thwok’.

She stared at the quivering arrow for a few moments in disbelief. Then, slowly, what could only be described as a thousand watt smile, lit up her face. “I hit it!” she exclaimed victoriously, jumping up in the air. “I can’t believe I actually hit it!”

Halt allowed himself a small smile, if it could called that. It was more of a tiny, almost imperceptible upward twitch of the corners of his mouth. He let her have her little moment in victory before he shot her down to land face down in the dirt.

“Not bad for a first try. But you’re going to need to be lot more accurate than that if you ever want to be a ranger. And do you know how you’re going to go about getting that accurate?”  
Lucy had known the shot could have been more accurate, so she wasn’t that crestfallen when Halt had said so. To be honest, Halt was a little surprised at her response, and a little disappointed that he hadn’t put much of a damper on her mood.

“Practice?” she said.

“Yep, lots and lots of practice.” Halt stated, attempting once again to trip her.

In response, she merely shrugged. “Well, you know what they say, practice makes perfect.”

‘Maybe I’m starting to lose my touch.’ Halt thought. “Yes, it does.” he said curtly, a little miffed now that Lucy wasn’t biting. ‘Is it because she’s optimistic? No, it worked on Gilan. Perhaps she’s not afraid of a little hard work?’

He looked as Lucy and she flashed him a bright smile, irritating him further. 

“Do I get to learn how to use a sword too?” she asked.

Halt looked at her as if he was questioning her sanity. “We’re ranger’s, we prefer to do our fighting from a distance.”

“I know but just seems . . . “ Lucy trailed off.

He could already see where this was going. He prodded her to finish, “Seems . . . what?”

She looked dismayed. “I don’t know! It just seems, I don’t know how else to say this, but it just seems . . . cowardly.”

“Says the girl who hides behind magical spirits.” Halt defended.

At that moment, Halt was very lucky looks couldn’t kill. “I do not “hide” behind them! I fight with them. I’m not like the celestial mages that use their spirits as shields or tools.”

Halt could have thrown another verbal barb, but decided against it. There was no point in starting a fight wither her. Every time he threw one, it was either almost completely ineffective, or maybe just a little too effective, as was just demonstrated. “Just forget it. We should start heading back.” he said, turning and walking back towards the cottage.


	5. Chapter Four

“How would you feel about sharing your room with a boy?”

Lucy’s fork slipped from her hand and clattered onto her plate as she stared at Halt. They had been eating breakfast when Halt had asked the question out of nowhere. Halt kept a straight face as he waited for a response from his shocked apprentice.

Lucy stared at Halt a little longer before she realized he was still waiting for her answer. “I’m sorry, but could repeat that? I’m not sure if I heard that correctly.” she asked, forcing a smile. 

“You probably heard me just fine, but I’ll say it again anyways. How would you feel about sharing your room with a boy?” Halt asked again, this time slower.

“. . . Where did this come from all of a sudden?!” she exclaimed.

Halt closed his eyes and sighed. He had learned that it made his life a lot easier if he didn’t argue with her. “Just answer the question.”

She frowned a little as she thought about the question. “Well, I don’t think I would mind . . . if there was a way for me to have some privacy.”

It was Halt’s turn to frown. “I’ve been trying to figure that out as well, not with much luck I’m afraid.”

“Hmm, I think I could figure something out. Just out of curiosity, why do you ask?”

He figured there was no harm in telling her. “Before you arrived, I had already had an apprentice in mind. He shows a lot of promise.”

This struck a cord in Lucy’s memory from when she first arrived in this world. “Ah, you mean Will?”

Halt look at her in surprise, the question in his eyes was obvious. 

Lucy rolled her eyes. “I heard you talking about him with Crowley and Gilan, remember?”

Halt did remember. “Yes I do. Please refrain from saying anything to him though. If anything is said, I’ll be the one saying it.”

Lucy nodded. “Okay.”

“So, any ideas about how we can get you some privacy?” asked Halt, noticing that she seemed to have had something in mind when he mentioned it.

She smirked confidently. “I think it’d be better for me to show you.”

Instead of answering his question she gathered up their plates. “While I wash the dishes, why don’t you pretty yourself up.”  
Halt raised his eyebrow at this. “And why should I ‘pretty myself up’?”

Lucy turned to him and delivered a bright smile. “Cause we’re going shopping.”

• • •

The next day, Halt watched as Lucy took a few steps back to admire her work. They had decided that the second bed would be on the opposite side of the room, parallel to her own. At her request, Halt had bought a large sheet of cloth, two hooks, and a length of rope.

Lucy had sewn a one and a half inch loop into the sheet of cloth and ran the rope through while Halt nailed the hooks to opposite ends of the wall. Once she was done, she tied a loop into both ends of the rope and placed them in the hooks. The rope wasn’t taught, but it wasn’t loose either. She pulled the cloth back and forth a few times to see how well it moved along the rope.

“There! Just like a curtain.” Lucy stated, clearly proud of herself. “This way, when we’re not using it, we can just push it to one side.”

“Better than nothing I suppose.” said Halt.

She glared at him. “If you think you can do better, you’re more than welcome.” Lucy stated, gesturing towards the curtain.  
Halt wasn’t really able to say anything to that. He was somewhat annoyed that he could rarely win an argument with the young mage.

Knowing that she had earned another point, Lucy smiled smugly. Thankfully she didn’t gloat for too long over her victory over her mentor. “Sooo, just when are you going to ask Will to be your apprentice?”

“In a couple months.” Halt replied. He elaborated further when she gave him a questioning look. “He’s from the Ward. In a couple months, the annual Choosing Day will come. It’s when the orphans are all taken to meet the Craftmasters, the ones that want or need apprentices, and they request to be taken into a particular craft. If they have promise, they will be accepted by the Craftmaster. Rarely, one of them can’t be put into any craft and are sent of to farming families.”

“Then . . . what if Will wants to join a different craft?” Lucy asked.

“That is very likely. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, I do not think that any of the Craftmasters would want him as an apprentice.” He saw a brief disapproving look come across her features. Feeling that he knew the source of her disapproval, he added just a little more. “And no, I’m not taking him in as a charity case. The Corps has no use of someone who is incapable of doing their job.”

• • •

Lucy had been allowed to take a day off from her training, which she was spending at the library and archives, trying to see if she could find any information about magic or other dimensions in the hopes that she could maybe find a spell that could return her home. She didn’t say anything to Halt but she was getting really worried that she might be stuck here forever, and that she’d never see her father, Fairy Tail, or her friends again. 

So far she had found several books and journals that might help her and was carrying it to a comfortable looking chair she had spotted with a table next to it. She was busying wondering what happened with her friends that had been with her at Tenroujima and didn’t notice when a boy close to her age game out from the rows of bookshelves carrying his own stack of books and by consequence, ran into the poor boy.

With shouts of surprise and tumbling books, both Lucy and the boy fell backwards onto their rumps. The boy, however, had the unfortunate luck to also have a book hit the top of his head.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow!” said the boy, rubbing his head, already feeling a bump growing.

“Ow.” groaned Lucy, rubbing her butt. She looked up to see who she ran into. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I wasn’t paying attention! Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” the boy said, looking up just in time to see Lucy’s thousand watt smile.

“Really? That’s great!” she said, clearly relieved that the boy wasn’t hurt.

“Uuuhhhhh . . . .” said the boy, for once unable to form words.

“Ahhh! What a mess!” she whined, looking at the mess of books that surrounded the two.

Lucy began picking up the books, with which the boy rushed to help her with. Let it suffice to say, it was an interesting combination of books. They each picked up one of the other’s books.

“Law?” said Lucy.

“Magic?” said the boy.

Lucy became nervous as Halt had warned her not to talk about magic if she didn’t want people to think she was crazy . . . or a witch. She gave a forced laugh. “Y-yeah, it’s just sort of some research I’m doing for fun. What about all these law books?”

The boy blushed a little. “I, uh, I want to become a scribe.”

“Really? So you’re going to be something like a lawyer? You must be pretty smart.”

“Um, thank you. I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before?” said the boy.

“Oh, no. I’ve only been here a little over a month. I’m Lucy, by the way.” she greeted, holding out her hand.

“Pleased to meet you Lucy, I’m George.” he said, shaking her hand.

With the introductions out of the way, Lucy and George went back to picking up the books. “So, what brought you to Redmont?”

Lucy smiled, happy that she was able to speak to someone that wasn’t Halt. “I’m actually here as an apprentice. Today’s my day off so I decided to hang out here.”

“You like reading?” asked George.

“Oh I love reading!” Lucy said.

Lucy and George talked for awhile, becoming engaged in a few friendly debates about certain subjects. George had been shy at first, but now he was speaking with her quite adamantly. During one of their conversations, he asked out of nowhere, “Are you going to be at the dance?”

Caught off guard, it took Lucy a moment to reply. “Dance? What dance?”

George fidgeted nervously before answering. “Well, Baron Arald is hosting a ball in a couple weeks, so I was wondering if you’d be there. My friends and I will be there. You’d love Jenny and Alyss!”

Lucy frowned. She’d had her fill of balls and parties from when she was the heiress of the Heartfilia estate. But then again, she was usually hosting them . . . and being introduced to “suitors.” This was bound to be different experience as she would be a guest, and she would be there to have fun. Then she came across a problem.

“Is that really okay? I mean, I haven’t been invited . . . “

“You said you were an apprentice, right? The Baron shouldn’t mind, who’s your Craftmaster?”

When the words left her mouth, Lucy almost immediately regretted them. “Oh, I’m Halt’s apprentice.”

The result was instant. George’s eyes widened in shock and he stared at her a few moments before forcing a bout of laughter. “Halt? The Ranger? Oh, that’s a good one! Now come on, who’s your Craftmaster?”

Lucy scowled and crossed her arms. “Halt is my Craftmaster.” she said firmly.

“Wait, you mean . . . you’re serious?! But . . . you’re a girl!” said George.

“So?” Lucy challenged. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

George flustered for a moment before exclaiming, “Girls can’t be Rangers!”

“Oh yeah? And what would you know?” asked Lucy, her eyes becoming fierce.

“Well I know that girls aren’t Rangers, and that’s a fact! I mean the very idea of a female Ranger is just preposterous!”

“As I recall, it wasn’t so long ago when the same was true for couriers. So why is the idea of a female Ranger so preposterous?” 

For once, George was having difficulty creating a decent counter-argument. “Because girls aren’t meant for fighting.”

Lucy eyes became harsh. “And just what are they meant for? Staying at home, raising the kids, cooking and cleaning while the man works? Do you think that’s all women are good for?”

“Well, no, but they certainly aren’t meant for fighting!”

Lucy’d had enough. “Why you narrow-minded, sexist . . .!” she flustered before turning heel and storming off, done arguing with the aspiring scribe.

When she got back to the cabin, she threw open the door, not even bothering to close it behind her, somewhat surprising Halt who had been reading some reports accompanied by a mug of coffee. 

“So how was the library?” he asked casually as she stormed past.

She opened the door to her room and paused briefly to answer him. “How do you think?!” she snapped before slamming the bedroom behind her.

“Badly I’m guessing.” Halt said, even though she couldn’t hear him.

He stood up and closed the door. He was beginning to realize that having a girl for an apprentice seemed significantly harder than having a boy as an apprentice. Lucy at the very least, seemed a bit more emotional than Gilan was. 

“I just hope she didn’t turn anyone into a toad.” he muttered as he sat back down to finish reading the report.


	6. Chapter Five

Needless to say, Lucy didn’t go to the dance. Not just because she was still mad at George, but also because she didn’t have anything to wear that was worthy of a dance. It wasn’t like she could ask Virgo to whip something up for her. Besides that, she was doing another type of training alongside her Ranger training.

She was doing her archery practice behind the cabin under Halt’s supervision. He wouldn’t admit it, but her proficiency with a bow was increasing at a rate that was almost . . . inhuman. Already she never missed a bulls-eye and her speed, well, she could fire arrows off with the same speed as some of the older Rangers on the force, including himself.

Halt had already sent his assessment of Lucy to Crowley several weeks ago, stating that he did not believe that Lucy would be a threat to the Corps or the Kingdom. He had also included Lucy’s progress in her training. At least her skills in silent and unseen movement were progressing at a normal level. 

The Choosing was in two weeks and he was going to let Will settle in before he introduced him to his roommate, in the meantime, we was planning on having Lucy stay with a friend. Halt smirked. Speaking of which, it was about time to introduce Lucy to Old Bob.

Excellent timing as well as Lucy had just emptied her quiver. “Lucy, that’s enough for today.” he called.

Lucy gave him a worried look, concerned that she may have done something wrong. The reason for her concern was that for Halt, no amount of training was “enough”. Halt would have chuckled if wasn’t . . . well, Halt.

“There’s one more thing you need if you’re ever going to be a successful Ranger.” said Halt.

 

That piqued Lucy’s interest. “Eh? What’s that?”

“You’ll find out once you stop asking questions. Go pack some spare clothes.” he told her.

“What do I need those for?”

Halt rolled his eyes to the heavens. “So many questions!” he said in mock-disapproval. “Just go do it so we can get this over with.”

“What about my arrows?” asked Lucy.

“I’ll take care of them. Now go get some clothes!”

Once they were both done with their tasks, Halt led Lucy down a narrow path. After about an hour they came across a collection of small buildings. Halt walked up the largest one and knocked on the door. “Old Bob!” he called out.

You could hear the sound of someone moving around inside the house. The door opened and out stepped an bent old man. He was almost completely bald and he had a long dirty beard. He also smelled like a stable. Despite all this, he seemed to be a rather likable old man.

“Hullo, Ranger!” Old Bob greeted cheerily.

“Hullo, Old Bob.” Halt greeted far less so.

Old Bob looked at Lucy who was standing behind Halt. “Well now, who’s this you’ve brought with ya?”

“Lucy this is Old Bob, Old Bob, this is Lucy. She’s my apprentice.” said Halt.

Old Bob narrowed his eyes at Halt. “Now are you just tryin’ to pull my chain, or did you say she was your apprentice?”

“It’s not a joke, she is my apprentice.”

Old Bob just gave a little shrug. “Oh well, suppose it was bound to happen sometime. Nice to meet you Lucy.”  
Lucy bowed slightly at the waist. “Pleasure to meet you Mister Bob.”

“Mister? Hahaha! Hear that? She called me Mister Bob! Oh young lady, just call me Old Bob. There’s no need formalities here.”

Lucy smiled brightly at him. “Okay then, Old Bob.”

“So, Old Bob, what do have for us?” asked Halt.

Old Bob grinned. “Couple of the finest horses I’ve bred.”

He led them around to the back of the house to a small paddock with a lean-to shed at the far end. It didn’t have any walls. Old Bob then whistled sharply, pointing to the lean-to. Lucy looked to see two horses galloping towards them. As they as drew nearer, Lucy could make out more details.

One of the horses was a shaggy brown pony and the other was a slightly shaggy three quarter horse that had a warm, honey color to it. The horses slowed to a stop by the fence. Old Bob greeted the horses with fondness. 

“Hmm, I think the larger one would be more suited for you. What do you think Lucy?” asked Halt.

“I guess so, they’re both beautiful.” she said admiringly. 

“Girl has a good eye,” said Old Bob approvingly. “But Halt’s right, Celeste would be better for you.”

“Celeste?” asked Lucy.

Halt frowned in thought. “Isn’t that Gallic for celestial?”

Old Bob just laughed. “Maybe so. Just seemed to fit.”

“Well I think it’s a lovely name and it suits her just fine.” said Lucy, approaching the horse.

Lucy held her hand out to Celeste so the mare could get her scent. Once she was sure the horse was comfortable with her, she gently stroked her snout. Halt and Old Bob stood off to the side, watching with approval as Lucy spoke softly to the horse. It was already clear the two had made a bond. Halt thought it almost ironic that Lucy, as a celestial mage, would come to have a horse named Celeste.

Lucy turned to the two men smiling brightly. “Can I ride her?”

Old Bob and Halt exchanged a quick look before Old Bob turned to her with a grin. “Sure, why not? Come, I’ll show you where the saddles are.”

Lucy followed Old Bob and came back a little bit later carrying a saddle and a bridle. She but both on the horse, making sure that saddle was on firmly but not so tight as to cause the horse discomfort. Then she mounted the horse, she smiled at the two men, who seemed to be expecting something. She shrugged it off and gently nudged her horse’s side and gave the reins a small flick.

Nothing happened for a moment. Then Lucy felt the mare’s muscles bunch up beneath her and Celeste started bucking wildly. By some miracle, Lucy was able to hold on, though just barely. Finally, after about a minute, Celeste managed to buck Lucy off. By this time, Halt and Old Bob were so thoroughly impressed that they didn’t bother laughing as Celeste was slightly panting from the effort of bucking off the tenacious mage and Lucy lay dazed and surprised on the ground.

She sat up, giving Celeste a confused look before turning to the two men at the fence. “What . . . just happened?”

The two men exchanged glances and Halt gave Old Bob a small nod. “Well, Ranger horses aren’t ordinary horses. They each have a password, a passphrase rather, that must be said before mounting them. This makes it so the horse can’t be stolen.” Old Bob explained,

“Then what’s Celeste’s passphrase?” asked Lucy, standing and brushing herself off of dirt.

“It’s ‘Escape destiny’.” said Old Bob.

“Escape destiny?” asked Lucy.

Halt almost smiled as he said, “Say it to the horse, not us.”

Lucy glared at him but did it anyway. The horse gave what seemed like a snort of approval. This time when she mounted the horse and then tried to ride it, there was no bunching of muscles, only the immediate response of a brisk walk. Lucy laughed, nudging Celeste to go faster to a trot, which the horse was happy to do.

Old Bob opened the gate. “Why don’t you see how fast she can really go?” he said, indicating the field past the gate.  
Lucy brought the horse around and nudged her into a gallop, laughing elatedly at the speed. Halt allowed himself a small smile. Then he turned to Old Bob.

“Old Bob, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”

“Sure Ranger, what is it?”

“I have another apprentice in mind and I’m going to present the offer to him soon. If he accepts I want him to get settled in before he meets his . . . roommate. Do you think you could take care of Lucy until then? Make sure she does all her training?”

Old Bob thought for a moment. “I suppose so, I could use a little help around here anyways. Does she know about this?”

“Not yet. I’m going to tell her right now, though. I wanted to see if you were okay with it first.” When the subject of their conversation came back a few minutes later, Halt called her over. “Lucy, come over for a bit.”

She dismounted, still grinning ear to ear as she came over. “Yes? What is it?” 

“I want you to stay will Old Bob for a few weeks, help him care for the horses and continue your training. I would like to get Will settled in before I introduce him to you. Plus, if you keep cleaning, how am I supposed to give him any chores?”

Lucy sighed and glared at Halt. “I suppose that’s why you told me pack my things. I really wish you would just tell me things sometimes.”

“I did. I told you to pack some clothes didn’t I?” said Halt innocently.

“Yes, but you didn’t tell my why or what for. You also failed to tell me where we were going.” Lucy said, not having any of it.

“You found out anyway didn’t you? Now, are you staying or not?” he said.

Lucy sighed again. “Yeah, I guess. When are you taking me back?”

“When I bring Will here for his horse. I’ll be bringing Abelard over before the Choosing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter I will be posting for this fan fiction for a while. As I is, I have way too many things on my plate and so I will be working on completing Spirit Keys and Santoryu; An Unlikely Love Story. Until then, my other stories will not be getting any more updates except for the ones I have already completed.


	7. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason other than I screwed up royally, there were a couple of missing chapters which i am uploading now.

Will was eating his first supper as Halt’s apprentice when he finally decided to ask. “Halt?”

He received a non-committal grunt in response, but decided to continue anyway. “Why is there two beds in my room? And what’s that rope and cloth set up?”

Halt dragged his hand over his face in mock weariness. “Do you ever ask one question at a time?”

Will remained quiet, fidgeting impatiently while waiting for the answer. Halt sighed. He supposed he would ask some time or another.

“The reason for the two beds is that you’ll be sharing your room with someone soon, and the cloth and rope is a divider, so each of you has at least some privacy.”

Will gave Halt a confused look. “Who would I be sharing with?”

“I have another apprentice, one that I took a few months back. You’ll meet soon enough.” Halt said at the end to answer Will’s next question before if flew out of his mouth.

“When?” asked Will, half eager, half apprehensive about meeting his fellow apprentice.

Halt gave him a small glare. “Soon.” he said in a tone that stated that the conversation was over.

Will fell silent, though it didn’t last long, much to Halt’s chagrin.

• • •

A couple weeks later, Halt and Will were walking towards Old Bob’s, not that Will knew where they were going. On the outside, Halt was as grim-faced as ever, but inside, Halt was rather pleased that he was going to reunite with Lucy. He’s never admit it, but he kind of missed having the mage around, not to mention the verbal battles they had, which Lucy would win most of the time.

When they came across the collection of buildings, Old Bob was already outside. “Hullo Ranger!”

“Hullo Old Bob.” Halt greeted.

“And who’s this young lad? I suppose he’s another apprentice?” Old Bob asked, despite already knowing the answer.

“That is correct. Will, this is Old Bob. Old Bob, this is Will.” said Halt.

“Pleased to meet you, sir.” said Will.

Old Bob burst out laughing. “Seems like you’ve been picking the polite ones Ranger!” When he was done he returned to his usual manner and asked Halt. “Speaking of apprentices, there wouldn’t be any chance I convince you to let me steal Lucy as my own apprentice, would there? The lass is so gentle and caring of the horses. She’d make a good trainer.”

Halt allowed himself a chuckle. “I’m afraid not. Speaking of Lucy, where is she?” he asked, making a show of looking around for the blonde mage.

 

“She should be back soon, she takes Celeste out for a ride every day.” said Old Bob.

Will was very confused. “Who’s Lucy?” he asked.

Halt sighed. “I should have known it wouldn’t be long before you started blabbing questions.”

Old Bob gave Halt a shocked look. “You didn’t tell him?”

“Of course I told him, I just didn’t mention a name. To answer your question Will, Lucy is my other apprentice.” said Halt.

Will gaped. If he didn’t know any better, he’d have though the grizzled ranger was joking, but as he gaped at his mentor, he saw no trace of anything to suggest that Halt was pulling his leg. Even so, he found the concept hard to grasp. Not only was his fellow apprentice a girl, but he had to share a room with her! His face flushed with the thought.

Old Bob and Halt both found it amusing when Will’s face reddened. “That’s why the divider’s there.” Halt said.

“W-well what does this . . . Lucy think about having to share a room with me?” asked Will. 

“She’s surprisingly okay with it.” said Halt. “As long as her privacy is respected, though I would pity you if you ever intruded upon it.” he added, having seen for himself the power of her kicks while he’d been training her. 

They then noticed the sound of horse’s hooves pounding onto the dirt and Abelard and Tug whinnied in greeting from the lean-to they were in, receiving whinny in kind. Will wondered who it could be while Old Bob and Halt knew it was Lucy. Lucy and Celeste burst through the trees, Lucy’s cowl had been blown back and her golden locks were streaming out behind her as she laughed. Halt swore he could see her brown eyes sparkling from where he was standing. 

Will openly gaped. When he was told that his fellow apprentice was going to be a girl, he’d pictured an intimidating, stern, no-nonsense girl, not this seeming joyful, fun loving, and kind girl and looked more like an angel than a Ranger, even if she was wearing the uniform. She brought Celeste around and gracefully dismounted before she’d even come to a full stop in front of the men.

“Halt!” she greeted cheerfully, throwing her arms around him in a hug. 

Halt stiffened, standing straight as board with wide eyes, not sure what to do or how to respond. The action surprised Will and Old Bob found Halt’s reaction amusing. Over her training, Lucy had begun to see Halt as something of a father figure.

She released him from the hug and turned to Will, still smiling. “Ah! You must be Will!” she said, holding out her hand cheerily. “I’m Lucy, pleased to meet you.”

Will stared at her for a few moments before numbly taking her hand. “H-How did you know my name?”

Lucy giggled and placed her finger against her lips with a conspiratorial expression. “It’s a secret.” she said, leaning slightly forward.

“Yes, well . . .” Halt said maybe a tad awkwardly, clearing his throat. “I believe we came here to get something. Old Bob, if you would?”

Old Bob nodded. “Sure thing Ranger.” he said before letting out an ear piercing whistle. 

Abelard and Tug came galloping out of the lean-to on the other side of the corral. Both horses happily greeted Lucy and Will swore he heard Halt mutter, “traitor”. After saying hello to Lucy, Abelard decided to greet Halt.

“Oh, I’m gone for two weeks but Lucy gets greeted first?” Halt asked his horse. 

Abelard snorted in response. “She nicer, and a lot prettier than you are.” he seemed to say.

Halt grunted. “Yeah, you’ve got me there.” he said, glancing over at the mage, who was currently gently tending to Celeste as Old Bob introduced Will to Tug.

His eyes widened as he understood why Old Bob wanted to steal Lucy to be his apprentice. The way she treated her horse was gentle and loving as was her expression and the way she spoke to Celeste. ‘This is my apprentice?!’ he thought to himself. ‘Old Bob’s right . . . she would make a good trainer . . . ‘

When Will was learning how to ride Tug, i.e. trying to ride Tug only to be bucked off because he didn’t say the passphrase, Lucy surprisingly kept quiet, though she winced when Will landed on his back and gave him an apologetic look when he asked what he did wrong. She glared at the two older men when Will turned to Tug back for being amused by the whole thing. She smiled as she watched the shaggy pony show Will just how fast he could go. 

They stayed the night and left the next day after giving Old Bob some time to say goodbye to the horses and Will had a little bonding time with Tug. Lucy hugged the old man goodbye, promising to visit him when she had the time. As the sun was setting, the three of them raced to the cabin. Halt and Abelard won as Halt got a head start on them. Lucy grinned as they entered the cabin and started making supper for the two males. Things were starting to look up . . . She only wished she could have her keys back.


	8. Chapter Seven

Lucy and Will were both extremely excited for the upcoming fall festival. Will was going to see his friends . . . and Horace, though he was hoping that that the knight in training had matured a little bit since he last saw him. Lucy was going to see the attractions and Halt had been gracious enough to give her a little spending money, telling her not to spend it all at one place. Agreeing to meet up later, Will and Lucy split up, Will to meet up with his friends, and Lucy to check out the festival.

While in town, Lucy made a few purchases, haggling down the prices with a combination of womanly charm and threats of taking her money somewhere else. Halt may or may not have been giving her lessons on how to coax information out of people without the use of her “sex appeal” tactic, not that it ever worked before. She played and lost a few games and looked at some of the attractions of the fair before going to meet up with Will and his friends.

She was shocked at what she saw when she got there. Will was fighting with a blonde boy that was much larger than him. This wouldn’t really bother her except for the fact that Will and the other boy were actually fighting, not the play fighting that she was used to seeing in Fairy Tail, but actually trying to hurt each other. Lucy didn’t even notice the two other girls and the other boy sitting in the shade of the tree, watching the two in shock and horror.

Anger suddenly coursed through Lucy and she stalked towards the fighting boys, a menacing aura surrounding her. Her appearance surprised the other three people there but Will and Horace were too busy fighting to see her approaching. Will had told her about his friends so she figured the large blonde boy was Horace. As she came up on them, the boys would feel a chill run up their spines . . . right before Lucy kicked Horace off of Will. 

Will tried to take advantage of this was punched in the back of the head, hard. Both the boys sprawled on the ground in pain. Angrily, they both turned to shout at whoever had interrupted them and immediately froze, their words dying in their throats and they paled at the sight of a furious Lucy. The other three apprentices sat stunned and George recognized Lucy as the girl he met in the library, though she looked completely different now.

“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” she shouted at the two boys.

The nearby Rodney stopped and stared at the girl shouting at the two boys. He had been coming over to separate them but the girl had beat him to it, and quite violently so. When Rodney recognized the cloak she was wearing as a Ranger’s cloak, he wondered if this was the female apprentice that Halt had taken.

Horace and Will cowered away from the angry female. “He started it.” Will said lamely. 

“I don’t care who started it!” Lucy shouted at him. “What I wanna know is why you were trying to kill each other?!”

“I wasn’t-“ began Horace.

“We weren’t-“ Will tried to say at the same time.

Lucy cut them off. “Well you could have fooled me!”

Will got a little braver, angry that he was being lectured. “What’s the big deal anyway? You told me that your friends Natsu and Gray fought all the time!”

She scowled at him. “That was completely different. They fought because they wanted to know who was stronger, you two were actually trying to hurt each other. And even if Gray and Natsu fought all the time, they would still watch each other’s backs! Now both of you, are going to apologize to each other, and shake hands.” she commanded. Thinking back on it later, she would wonder if Erza hadn’t rubbed off on her.

Will and Horace hesitated. When Lucy gave them a warning glare, they begrudgingly apologized to each other and shook hands on it when commanded, albeit very tightly. They didn’t even make eye contact with each other as they did so. Lucy sighed in agitation. She supposed it was the most she was going get from them. 

“Will, I’m going back to the cabin. You can do whatever want, but if you try something like this again, either of you . . . I won’t forgive you.” Lucy told them before walking back to Celeste and mounting her. 

Flicking her reins, she set Celeste at a canter towards the forest. There was a spot there where she was training her magic.  
Before Halt confiscated her keys, she had managed to learn from Capricorn how to increase her magic power. If it was magic that was able to bring her here, then it would be magic that would bring her home too. In order to do that, she needed to be stronger. If she got strong enough, she would have the Urano Metria spell that she had used to defeat Angel, just in case of an emergency. She’d asked Virgo about it, again before Halt confiscated her keys.

In the end, Lucy didn’t get to meet Will’s friends, and she’d made a bad impression on them without realizing it. She had however, also without her knowing it, left an excellent impression on Sir Rodney, and on the rest of the Craftmasters as well as Baron Arald. Later that day, Rodney had found all of the aforementioned people and had told them what he had seen. Rodney wasn’t one for gossip, everyone knew that, but Halt had told them to report anything interesting about his female apprentice.

Nothing much happened after that. Will and Lucy trained together, and Halt trained them in the ways of a Ranger. Will didn’t seem to be as interested in his academic studies as Lucy, but when it came to his other training, he set out to succeed. Halt noticed that when it came to Lucy, there was a certain kind of determination in her eyes when she was training that said she was trying more than to do good, that the training served some other underlying purpose to her, but Halt couldn’t figure out what it was. He was also noticing that she was getting dark circles under her eyes and was yawning all the time. 

One day at breakfast, he asked, “Lucy, have you been sleeping alright?”

Lucy turned to him and it took a moment for her brain to register what he’d asked. “Huh? Oh, yeah. I’ve been sleeping just fine.” she said, right before yawning.

“Are you feeling alright then? I only ask because you’re tired all the time.” said Halt.

She seemed to get a little annoyed at that. “I’m fine Halt. You don’t have to worry about me.” said Lucy.

Halt sat back in his chair and shrugged. “I’m not worried, I just don’t want you slacking in your training because you’re tired.”

Will had paused eating, fork in his mouth, eyes darting back and for between the two as they exchanged words. It felt extremely awkward watching Lucy and Halt argue, and Will knew just how scary Lucy could be when she was angry. Halt was glaring at Lucy like he knew she was hiding or lying about something, and Lucy was glaring right back as if to tell him to mind his own business. And poor Will was caught in the middle of it all. He sunk down in his chair a little. 

“I. Won’t. Slack.” she said, purposely pronouncing each word slowly and clearly. 

“We’ll. See. About. That.” Halt responded in kind. 

Will sunk down further in his chair as the two glared challengingly at each other.

For the rest of the day, Lucy put double the effort into everything she did and Halt watched her like a hawk. Will was thankful when it was finally time to go to bed so he didn’t have to see those two glaring at each other. Getting into a comfortable position, Will quickly fell asleep.

Lucy waited till she heard Halt retire to his room, then she waited another hour, trying to keep herself from drifting off to sleep. Once that was done, she got up, put on her boots and the brown cloak she’d been given when she first arrived here, and snuck out of her room, through the cabin, and out the door. She bypassed the horses as she didn’t want them making noise and waking anyone up and headed into the forest. It was impossible for her to slip away during the day and do this, and Halt didn’t want her using magic so she didn’t want to get caught.

Halt had stayed awake to see just why Lucy was so tired all the time. He actually felt kind of proud at how quietly she was able to sneak out, just the slight shift of her feet and the sound of the doors being opened and closed. Halt stood up from where he’d been sitting on the bed and followed her into the forest. 

Hiding in the bushes, he watched as she seemed to reach her destination. There was a perfectly circular patch of ground that was free of all leaves and twigs. Lucy sat pretzel style in the center and took some deep breaths, relaxing her body. A light wind picked up around her, which was strange since the air was still from where Halt was sitting. He frowned. Just what on earth was she doing?

The wind continued to pick up in that circular pattern Lucy was sitting in until she seemed to be almost glowing with a golden light and it looked like she was sitting in the middle of a tornado. Then, in an instant, it dissipated, and Lucy fell back, panting and sweating. She laid there for a little bit, catching her breath. Halt was about to come out of cover and ask her why she was using magic when she lifted her hand and looked at the pink mark on the back of her right hand with a sad expression. 

“I miss everyone.” she said with a heavy sigh. 

She let her arm fall back to the ground and looked up at the stars through the trees. “Lyra, Nikola, Horologium, Crux, Leo, Cancer, Sagittarius, Aquarius, Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn, Gemini . . . “ Lucy said, naming off the constellations. “I hope I’ll be able to summon you guys soon. Just watch. I’ll get stronger and stronger and *yawn* stronger. Then . . . we can all . . . go . . . home.” she said, eyes drifting shut until fell asleep.

Halt sighed and go out of cover. Perhaps he could allow this, but it couldn’t get in the way of her training. Walking over to her, he shook her awake. He was barely able to dodge the punch that followed his attempt to wake her, which had succeeded. It was amusing to watch her eyes widen the way did. 

“Halt! Listen I can explain! I was um-!” she started.

“Oh I know perfectly well what you were doing.” he said, scowling at her. Halt decided he was going make her suffer just a little before allowing her to breathe easy. She had to go through some form of punishment. “Go back to the cabin and get some sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.” 

Lucy hung her head. “Yes Halt.” she said, standing up. She half-heartedly brushed herself off and headed back to the cabin.

• • •

Needless to say, Will was a little confused as to why Halt was letting Lucy sleep in. Halt gave him a list of things to do. The grizzled ranger calmly drank his coffee as he waited for Lucy to wake up. It took her a full half an hour for her to actually come out of her room once she had. When she saw him at the table she hung her head and dragged her feet.

“Sit down.” Halt commanded when she tried to walk past him like she’d been hoping he’d ignore her.

Tensely, she sat down in the chair across from him. They sat in silence for a few minutes and then Lucy cracked. “I’m really sorry for going against you and using magic even though you told me not to and I’m sorry for sneaking out at night to train my magic and then lying about it! Please forgive me and please don’t kick me out! I want to keep training under you!” she said quickly.

“Answer a few questions for me first. What were you doing out in the woods, why did you hide it, and why do you want to remain my apprentice so badly?” said Halt.

Lucy seemed surprised by the question. “Well . . . I was training my magic so I can be stronger, and it might help me get back to my world. And I wanted to get strong enough to use the spell Urano Metria, the ultimate Celestial Spirit magic spell. I thought it might be good to have in case of an emergency. I didn’t tell you because you told me not to use magic. And . . . the reason I want to remain your apprentice so badly is because I want to become a better fighter. There are a lot of people in my guild that are much stronger than me, and I feel like I’m always being protected. I want to be able to actually do something, and I can’t do that at the level I’m at right now.”

Halt thought about her answers carefully. “Alright then. You’ve given my questions satisfactory answers. I’ll allow you to remain my apprentice under two conditions.”

Lucy looked up at him, shocked that he wasn’t as nearly as mad as she thought he was going to be, or at the very least far less angry than he had let on the previous night. “Eh?”

He sighed. “I’m just going to pretend that you gave me an intelligent response and list my two conditions anyway. The first is, no more hiding things from me, I need to know I can trust you. You may continue training you magic if you want to do it that badly, however you cannot let anyone see you doing it, and you can’t let it get in the way of your training as a ranger. Basically, your training under me comes first, and your magic comes last. Do you understand?” said Halt. 

It took Lucy a moment to respond. “I-I understand, but . . . you’re not mad?” asked Lucy.

“Not in the slightest. I thought you needed to be on edge for a little bit, as punishment for hiding things. Next time I won’t be so forgiving.” said Halt. “Is that understood?”

“Understood.” said Lucy.

He nodded. “Good. Now get the horses ready. You and Will have another tracking lesson today.” 

“But . . . I haven’t even had breakfast yet!” Lucy exclaimed. 

Halt shrugged as if there was nothing he could do about it. “Well, I guess you should have gotten up earlier then.” He enjoyed the look of disbelief on her face. It was good to know he still had it.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Ranger's Apprentice.

Winter came and Will and Horace hadn’t resolved their differences. Both Will and Lucy were on their horses as Halt had taken them out for a tracking lesson. The blonde mage turned to Will, noticing that her fellow apprentice seemed to be spacing out slightly. This didn’t last long, she didn’t think it would, nothing much got by Halt. 

"Could we possibly continue with our tracking, Will? Unless you have something more important to do." Halt asked the boy witheringly.

As it was their job to identify the tracks left in the crisp white snow, Will scanned around for the tracks he was supposed to be looking for. Halt indicated the tracks. “There. That’s where you should have been looking if you were paying attention like you were supposed to. But, seeing as you weren’t paying attention, Lucy, would you like to identify the tracks?”

Lucy gave Will and apologetic glance before answering their mentor. “They’re rabbit tracks.” she said. Halt gave her a look she knew well, having been Halt’s student a little bit longer than Will. “Rabbits.” she corrected herself, stressing the “s”. 

Will hung his head in shame and embarrassment from having been humiliated like that. At the very least Lucy seemed to feel bad about it and wasn’t gloating over it. He was thankful that Lucy didn’t seem to enjoy that situation any more than she did, in fact, she looked like she would like to disappear into the background like they did during their unseen movement training sessions. 

“Good. So there are rabbit tracks. Will, are there any other tracks besides those?” said Halt, having punished the boy enough for his inattentiveness.

Will instantly perked up at a chance to redeem himself to Halt. He examined the tracks closely and noticed small tracks in the snow, mixed in with the rabbit tracks. “A stoat!” he said triumphantly.

"A stoat," Halt confirmed. "But you should have known there was something else there, Will, Lucy. Look at how deep the rabbit tracks are. It's obvious that they were frightened. When you see something like that, it's a hint to look for something extra."

Both Will and Lucy listened to Halt with attentiveness. "I see," said Will. 

Halt shook his head. "No. All too often, you don't see, because you don't maintain your concentration. You'll have to work on that. And Lucy, you need to pay closer attention to things like this as well."

Will took the criticism without complaint. Lucy gave a small nod of her head. “Yes, Halt.” she said, understanding.

They continued on, both students searching for tracks in the white snow. As they were starting to head back to the cabin, Will spotted some tracks. He pointed them out. “What kind of tracks are those?” he asked. He’d never seen them before.

Halt looked at the tracks. “Hmm, that’s one I haven’t shown you two yet.” he said, getting closer to get a better look at the said tracks. 

Lucy and Will got closer as well. The blonde girl examined the tracks closely. “Are those . . . boar tracks?” 

Halt looked at the mage, impressed, even if he didn’t show it. “Very good Lucy. Yes, these are boar tracks. And from a big one too.” he said. 

Will looked around nervously, knowing boars were very dangerous. Halt noticed. “Relax, Will, he’s nowhere near us.”  
"You can tell that from the tracks?" Will asked.

"No," said Halt replied. "I can tell it from our horses. If a boar that size were anywhere in this area, these three would be snuffing and pawing and whinnying so hard, we wouldn't be able to hear ourselves think." he reasoned.

"Oh," said Will. 

Lucy frowned slightly. This was a large boar? “The ones I’m used are much bigger.” she murmured aloud before noticing a bush moving ever so slightly . . . though there wasn’t any wind.

Slowly, she nocked an arrow in her bow, eyes trained on the moving bushes, hands steady as she was no stranger to battle. She nudged Halt’s foot with her boot, causing him to look at her and notice the moving bush, having been distracted by the fact that Lucy had just said she was used to boars much bigger than the one that had left the tracks. Will soon noticed the moving bush as well..

"I hope you're not thinking of shooting the poor farmer that’s hiding behind those bushes," he said seriously, but loud enough to be clearly heard by the person hidden in the bushes.

Instantly, there was scrambling movement in the foliage of the bush and a man cried out nervously, “Please, don't shoot! It's only me!"

A disheveled and frightened-looking old man stood up and hurried forward. In his haste, however, his foot caught in a tangle of underbrush and he sprawled forward onto the snow. He scrambled hurriedly to his feet, hands held out in a placating gesture.

Then he started to ramble. "Only me, sir! No need for shootin', sir! Only me, I swear, and I'm no danger to you!"

His eyes were fixed on the bow in Lucy’s hands and the gleaming, razor-sharp tip of the arrow. Lucy lowered the bow and put in arrow back into the quiver on her back. Her cowl was up so the farmer couldn’t see her face and see that she was an actually a woman. Though there were other . . . parts of her which should have given it away, the farmer seemed a bit too frightened to actually notice.

She cast a glare in Halt’s direction. “You knew he was there? The whole time?”

Halt waved it off. “Saw him a few minutes ago. Eventually you’ll learn how to tell when someone’s watching you, then how to find them.” Ignoring Will’s look of admiration, Halt asked the farmer, “Now, why were you hiding in the bushes, were you spying on us?”

"Not at all sir!” the farmer said quickly. “Not spying. I just heard you coming and thought you was that monster boar coming back!"

"You thought I was a wild boar?" Halt asked, causing Lucy to giggle. 

The farmer looked at Lucy strangely when she giggled, but quickly realized that he wasn’t denying the ranger’s accusation and started rambling, denying having such thoughts.

Having enough of the farmer’s rambling, Halt sighed in exasperation and interrupted him. "What are you doing here? I know you’re not from around here." 

"I come from Willowtree Creek!" he said, eager for the change in subject. "Been trailing that monster and was hoping to find someone could turn him into bacon."

"You've seen the boar, then?" Halt asked, dropping the mock severe tone he had been using with the farmer up until now.

"Seen him. Heard him. Don't want to see him no more. He's a bad one, sir." said the farmer, looking around as if the boar would pop out any minute.

Halt, Lucy, and Will all glanced at the tracks left behind by the boar. “Well . . . He’s certainly big.” Halt muttered. “What exactly were you planning on doing once you found this boar?”

"I don't rightly know, sir. Hoped I'd find a soldier or the like to get rid of him.” said the farmer. “Or maybe a Ranger," he added as an afterthought.

Will grinned and Lucy chuckled at that. Halt ignored them, going over to the farmer and asked him, “Has he been causing a lot of trouble?”

"He has, sir! That he has! Killed three of my dogs. Tore up my fields and fences, and nearly killed my son-in-law when he tried to stop him!”

"Hmmm," he said as he rubbed his bearded chin thoughtfully. "Well, there's no question that we'd better do something about it. " He looked up at the sun, sitting low to the horizon in the western sky, then turned to Will and Lucy. "How much daylight would you say is left Lucy?"

Lucy turned and studied the sun’s position . “About an hour.” she said.

Halt nodded in approval as the farmer looked at Lucy, stunned to see a woman wearing a Ranger’s garb. “That is correct.” he said, receiving a beaming smile in response. 

It took a lot of arguing about Halt’s identity, that Lucy couldn’t figure out the significance of, but Halt finally managed to get the farmer to deliver a message to Baron Arald to form a hunting party for the boar. And that’s how they got to where they were are now, with a hunting party of 15, including Baron Arald, Battlemaster Rodney, and even Horace, the only trainee in the group besides Will and Lucy.

"Remember," Halt said quietly to Will and Lucy. "if you have to shoot, aim for just behind the left shoulder. A clean shot to the heart will be your only chance to stop him if he's charging."

They both nodded their understanding. The patted their horses comfortingly, trying to soothe their nervousness. Both Celeste and Tug could smell the boar and it made them fidgety. Halt moved over to the least experienced hunters, while Lucy and Will were situated with the least experienced ones. Will and Horace exchanged glances, and Lucy was pleased to note that there wasn’t any hostility. 

The circle of knights, and the three apprentices, formed a circle around the thicket that Will, Halt, and Lucy had found previously and they started closing in. From the thicket came the boar’s enraged scream. Though she’d heard much worse, the sound still shook Lucy a little bit. As Lucy looked over at Baron Arald and Sir Rodney, she was suddenly reminded of Natsu when she saw the excited looks on their faces. Fighting back a surge of home sickness, Lucy readied an arrow in her bow, following Will’s example.

The Baron signaled to the dog handler to release the dogs and they shot off into the thicket. Lucy had never really heard anything like the cacophony of sounds that followed afterward. The baying of the large dogs that had been bred specifically for boar hunting, the angry shrieking from the enraged boar, and the crashing, snapping sound of bushing and saplings. Then the boar burst from the thicket.

Lucy had expected a chaotic battle, something she was used to being a member of Fairy Tail, so it was a little surprising to her when the entire thing was so cut and dry, over in less than a minute. The boar charged at one of the knights. Unflinchingly, calmly even, he placed his spear in the ground, braced against his foot. The boar charged right into the spear, killing itself with a scream of pain and anger. Lucy watched the morbid display. Then, it was dead, laying harmlessly on the ground.

All the knights surrounded and congratulated the man on killing the boar, though the Baron was a little disappointed that he himself hadn’t gotten a chance to kill the boar, something he mentioned as he passed the apprentice rangers. Lucy stood by awkwardly as Horace and Will looked at each other equally awkwardly. With neither boy wanting to take the first step towards reconciliation without some sort of encouragement to do so, Horace shrugged and went to congratulate the knight like the others. 

That’s when another, even larger boar burst from the thicket and attacked.


	10. Chapter Nine

The boar charged at the two boys and Lucy. Horace stepped in between them and boar and set his spear the way he had been shown without hesitation. However, his foot slipped on a patch of icy snow and he fell on to his side, spear falling from his grip. Lucy was fast to react, Will only slightly behind. They both dismounted their horses. Will fired an arrow at the boar to distract it from Horace before running to one side. Lucy did the same, running the opposite direction and firing an arrow to distract the boar from Will. She found herself wishing for her keys.

Will fired at the boar again. Their arrows did barely more than scratch the boar, though the pain still enraged it. With a blood curdling scream, it hurdled towards Will, ignoring Lucy's attempts to distract it with her own arrows. He ducked behind a tree. The boar plowed into it, but was seemingly unfazed by the impact as it backed up before charging at Will again, who darted around the tree trunk again, barely escaping the boar's ripping tusks.

It screamed in rage and it came at Will again. Lucy kept shouting and firing arrows but it ignored her. The boar came at Will slow this time so he wouldn't be able to dodge. The other hunters shouted but they would be too late to help. Will took an arrow and nocked it into his bow, though he knew he had no chance of hitting a vital spot. He heard Lucy call out to him, but more immediately the sound of Tug's hooves as the horse came towards him.

"Tug, no!" Will shouted, afraid for the pony.

Tug charged at the huge boar, turning in his tracks and kicking out his rear hooves once he was in range, catching the boar in it's ribs and sending it rolling. However, the boar got right back up, angrier than ever and the kick hadn't done any significant damage. It slashed at Tug and the pony pranced out of the way, neighing in fear. Will shouted at Tug to get clear of the boar, knowing the boar could seriously injure the pony, possibly crippling him for life.

Will was distracted an audible snapping sound as a thin piece of leather shot towards the boar and wrapped securely around one of it's tusks. He followed the line of braided leather to its handler, his blonde fellow apprentice. He was surprised by the hard, determined look in her usually gentle and warm eyes. With a shout and showing a level of strength that shouldn't have been possible, Lucy yanked the boar towards her and turned, causing it to fly over her head as she used the momentum to slam it into the ground on the other side.

"Don't you dare hurt my friends!" she shouted at the boar, the whip in her hands loosening from the tusk.

As it did so, Lucy ran at the boar as it slowly started getting up. "Lucy!" she shouted. Right as she reached the boar, she dug on foot into the ground and thrust her foot out, slamming it into the side of the boar. "Kick!" she shouted as her foot connected, sending it flying into a nearby tree. The trunk of the tree cracked and splintered from the impact.

Everyone stared at the blonde girl in shock, Halt included. The boar was slower getting up this time, definitely hurting from what Lucy had just done to it. However, it was still alive, and still a danger. Lucy cracked her whip, ready for it as she stood between it and Will. A deep, whistling sound resounded through the clearing, followed by a solid smack of an arrow slamming into meat. The boar reared up in agony and fell, dead, one of Halt's heavy shafted arrow embedded in it's heart from the side, just behind the left shoulder.

Halt rode Abelard over to both of them, dismounting and pulling both of his apprentices into a hug. "You were both very foolish." he said to them. Despite the strength Lucy had displayed, he had still worried for both Will and Lucy's safety.

Lucy smiled and she hugged Halt back, just as Will did, shaken from the frightening experience. "Maybe it was." said Lucy. "But protecting the people around us it the most important."

"Perhaps." the grim Ranger said.

He released them from the hug as the other hunters gathered around the boar, admiring it's size and congratulating Will and Lucy for their bravery, though the ones for Lucy seemed more awkward. A hand settled on Will's shoulder and he turned to see Horace. Lucy smiled and stepped away from the two, seeing that their reconciliation was finally at hand.

She smiled as she watched them talk before falling silent for a moment and shaking hands. The rest of the knights and hunters were silent as well, watching and unwilling to interrupt. Then Baron Arald stepped forward and put his arms around the two boys, congratulating them on their battle born friendship. The others voiced their assent.

"We've got two fine young men here!" the Baron announced to the group, once again earning their voiced assent. "And a brave young woman." he added, earning nods from the knights. "Halt, Rodney, you both have fine apprentices that you can be proud of!"

"Indeed we do." said Sir Rodney.

Halt, of course, was silent, as Lucy had come to expect from the grizzled Ranger. He met the eyes of his two apprentices and nodded, which they knew was Halt's equivalent of three hearty cheers. All three apprentices grinned at each other.

• • •

In the days following the boar hunt, Will and Lucy noticed differences in the way they were treated, with respect being the most noticeable attitude towards them. It wasn't long before the story became exaggerated to the point where Will had killed one of the boars with a single arrow that shot clean through it, while Lucy wrestled the second with her bare hands, putting it in choke-hold and snapping it's neck. Both apprentices tried to deny and correct these rumors, but their protests would be waved of as them being modest. Finally, Lucy just gave up, though she never really accepted any of the praise in the first place. Around the castle, Will's, and even Lucy's name became well known, which was strange feeling for both of them.

In other news, the annual Gathering held by the Rangers, where all fifty Rangers came together to exchange news and discuss any problems that have arisen throughout the kingdom and make plans, was going to be taking place in a month. As such, Will and Lucy accelerated their training. It was hard for Lucy to believe that she had been there an entire year, training under Halt. Will had only been training for seven months, so Lucy was five whole months ahead of him, so Will was determined to catch up. So much so in fact, that he had forgone his Saturday breaks that Halt had given him and Lucy, practicing from morning to night. He was glad that Lucy decided to join him. It was better than training alone.

One particular day, Lucy had taken Celeste out for a ride while Will stayed behind, firing his bow at targets behind the cottage. She made a detour to her usual practice spot to train her magic a little. Something she was proud to have been keeping up with. After a rest and a snack to rejuvenate herself, she got back on Celeste and headed back to the cabin. Lucy's eyes widened when she heard Will cry out in pain and she set Celeste to a full gallop, hand going to her belt to grasp for her keys out of habit, only for her fingers to clasp around nothing and she frowned in sadness. She really missed her spirits, and her friends at Fairy Tail.

She shook off the bout of homesickness and focused on getting to Will. She heard a shout as she came out of the forest. Her eyes immediately took in the scene outside the cabin. Will was on the ground surrounded by three boys, knights-in-training by the looks of them, all of them holding canes that they seemed to have been using to beat her fellow apprentice. Then she saw a beaten and bruised Horace standing several feet away with a wooden drill sword in his hand.

Lucy slowed Celeste to a stop and dismounted her so she approach them silently. She saw the three boys abandon Will to form a semi-circle around the other injured boy. Horace stood his ground.

"Looks like Baby followed us." said one of the boys.

"Baby wants another beating." said another one of the boys.

"And Baby's going to get it." said the third boy with a sneer.

There was the sound of three snaps in quick succession, nearly instantly followed by the cries of the three boys as they dropped their canes, holding their hands that had red lines already beginning to form. They all looked to see who had done it and saw Lucy standing there, whip in hand. A chill ran down the spines of all five of the present boys and the grizzled Ranger hiding from view as they saw Lucy's stone expression and the menacing aura that seemed to be coming from her. It was the same look that was able to make Natsu and Gray cease their fighting.

"Get away from my friends." said Lucy, voice lowered, which was far more frightening than if she had shouted.

Then the three second year knights in training started laughing, realizing that all and all, she was just a woman. "Listen girl, this is Battleschool business, so I suggest you just stay out of it before you get hurt. Wouldn't want to mess up that pretty little face of yours would we?" said one of the boys, causing Lucy's eyes to narrow.

She opened her mouth to respond but was beaten to the punch, literally, as the boy doubled over, holding his stomach in pain and spittle flying from his mouth. They looked in surprise to the owner of the fist that had just punched the boy. The boy, no, man, had a head of orange hair that was spiking and wild, seeming to defy gravity. He was wearing two black circles over his eyes and was wearing oddly cut black clothing with a white shirt beneath the black jacket he wore.

"I won't forgive anyone who speaks to Princess in such a manner." he stated, his eyes, visible through the black circles on his face, were narrowed threateningly.

" . . . Loke!" Lucy exclaimed in joy.

Loke turned towards her and smiled. Walking up to her, he knelt down on one knee and took her hand, kissing it before smiling at her flirtatiously. "Did you miss me, Princess?"

Everyone stared in shock. Lucy pried her hand from his with a sigh before smiling at him. "I did actually."

Loke blinked at her, as if surprised by her response before he grinned and put his arm around her. "Ufufufu, I knew you couldn't resist my charms, Princess! Come, let us run away together and-hurg!" his sentence was cut short by a pained grunt as Lucy elbowed him in the ribs.

"What the hell are you on about?" Lucy asked, exasperated with the celestial spirt.

Halt decided enough was enough and came out of his spot where he had been concealed from sight until now. "Enough of this. Lucy and . . . Loke was it? I'm going to have to ask you to stay out of this particular matter, wouldn't want to make this too unfair would we?"

Lucy gave him a questioning look before a look of understanding spread across your features. "Okay." she said. "I'll just watch from here then."

And so, after Halt showed the arrogant knights-in-training why he should be feared when they didn't seem to think that the matter at hand was any of his business, he forced them to, one by one, pick up their canes and battle Horace. The young, blonde knight-in-training proved to be a much more capable fighter than these second years. Around time the spanking came around, Lucy was starting to feel really bad for them. Sure, they had attacked Will and beaten up and bullied Horace, but this was a little too much. She was used to people being quickly beaten to pulp, and even then the people knew what they were getting in to. When they got to the last boy was being beaten, Lucy finally had to interject.

"Halt, don't you think they've had enough?" she said. When he raised a brow at her, she clarified. "I mean, haven't they already learned their lesson? If we go any further, then we're really no better than them are we?"

The boy that was currently on the ground holding his injuries looked at her like she was some sort of saint. Horace lowered his drill sword, taking what Lucy had said into consideration. Even Will thought about it. Halt noticed these reactions.

"Horace, what do you think? These three attacked you and Will, what do you want do with them?" said Halt. He figured that Horace's grievances with these three went back farther than just today.

Horace thought about it before sighing somewhat reluctantly. "Alright, they've had enough."

The last knight in training looked extremely happy with this turn of events, and it all happened because of Lucy. He turned to her. "Thank you!" he said.

Lucy didn't give much of a reaction to the thanks. "Don't thank me, thank Horace, it was his decision to be the better man. But there is one thing I want to tell you, if you ever lay your hands on my friends again, I won't forgive you, and it'll be my turn to deal out the punishment."

Halt smirked as the boy scrambled away, leaving behind his friends. That had worked out surprisingly well, though he was a little disappointed that Horace didn't get to finish. With all that said and done, he sent Horace off to the infirmary, as well as the other three boys, albeit reluctantly, and informed Sir Rodney of the boys' actions. Needless to say, the Battlemaster wasn't pleased, and expelled the three from Battleschool. After that, Horace's life at Battleschool became much better. The others stopped avoiding him, and his assignments became much improved in quality. Essentially, everything was coming up sunshine, except for one little thing that Halt needed to address . . .


	11. Chapter Ten

Waiting until Will was training, Halt had Lucy come with him inside the cabin. There was something that they needed to discuss immediately, and he had already waited far too long to address the matter. It had already been a week since the incident with the three Battleschool boys.

Halt waited till the door had closed behind them before speaking. "What did I tell you about using your magic?" he asked her sternly.

"I didn't use my magic." said Lucy. "The only thing I've been using my magic for is when I'm training it.

"Then how did Loke get here?!" Halt demanded.

Lucy frowned and crossed her arms. "I didn't summon him, if that's what you're thinking, a Celestial Mage always keeps their word. My spirits can appear on their own, a lot of them choose not to but some of them do from time to time. Loke and Virgo are usually the ones who do it though, Horologium appears on his own in case of emergencies too."

"So any one of your spirits can just come out whenever they please? Can't you do anything to stop them?" Halt questioned.

"Of course I can, but I won't." said Lucy, her expression showing she found the idea abhorred. "They're my friends, and I'm not going to control them like that. I'm not one of those Celestial Mages that used their spirits like tools."

Halt sighed. "And I'm not saying you should, but if you're going to be a Ranger, you can't have your . . . friends appearing whenever they please. Not only could it endanger you, but it could also jeopardize any mission you happen to be on. Rangers operate using stealth, and frankly, your "friends" are not very stealthy. In fact, they're not even inconspicuous."

"That's just who they are! I'm not going to ask them to change! Besides, you only met two of my spirits, some of them actually are good at stealth. Gemini and Virgo for example! Gemi and Mini can turn into whoever they touch, and Virgo can create tunnels underground." she said. "Besides, they usually only appear when I'm in danger or am in need of them otherwise."

"Be that as it may, we can't afford to have your "friends", popping up whenever they want." said Halt.

Lucy was starting to get angry now. "You've already taken away the only friends I can see in this world, what more do you want?!" she exclaimed, frustrated tears forming. "I'm trapped here away from all of my friends, my family, my home! And I don't even get to see my spirits! You're just a cranky old man!" Lucy declared before running out.

"Lucy! Get back here this instant!" Halt commanded only to be ignored. "Difficult child." he muttered.

Outside the cabin, Will had his mouth covered, eyes bugging from shock. He had thought something strange was going on when Halt pulled Lucy aside to talk to her privately, and, as was his nature, he became insatiably curious and decided to listen in . . . Okay so he totally eavesdropped, but come on! Was this really happening?! Or was this some joke that was being played on him? Did Halt know Will would listen in, was it part of a test? There was no way Lucy could actually use magic . . . right?

Halt sighed in exasperation. "I know you're there Will." he said, looking at the window he was hiding under. "Why don't you come inside."

Gulping nervously, Will stood from his crouched position and walked around to enter the cabin. He shifted anxiously from one foot to the other. Halt gestured for him to sit, so he did. They sat in pregnant silence, Halt waiting expectantly for him to crack, while Will waited to see if Halt would say something.

Finally, Will couldn't take the silence anymore. "Alright I'm sorry I eavesdropped but I was just curious and I didn't really mean to! I just thought something was weird, so I just ended up listening in-"

Halt raised his hand to stop Will from continuing. "While I don't appreciate you eavesdropping," he began, giving him a pointed look, making the boy cower slightly in his chair. "it was only a matter of time before you found out. Everyone in the Corps knows about it and you would have found out one way or another at the Gathering."

Will swallowed nervously. "Wh-what are you talking about?" he asked.

"You overheard didn't you? About Lucy's magic?" Halt asked him.

He nodded. "Lucy . . . doesn't actually have magic does she?" asked Will.

"She does." Halt told him matter-of-factly. "As a matter of fact, she's not even from this world."

"I . . . I don't understand . . . What do you mean she's not from this world? What world is she from if not this one?" he exclaimed.

Halt sighed. "There you go again, asking so many questions. The reality of it is, we're not quite sure. Lucy claims the place she comes from is called "Earthland", a place where magic is common place and used in the everyday lives of the people. She lived by herself in an apartment in the city of Magnolia, in the country Fiore. Here, she was the member of an apparently famous guild called Fairy Tail, which is what the pink tattoo on her hand marks her as.

"Long story short, the guild was having a S Class exam, which would move them up in rank, allowing them to take more dangerous jobs with higher rewards. During the exam, they were attacked by a dark guild, led by the previous guild master of this "Fairy Tail". They beat him, and in morning as they were recovering, they were attacked by a country destroying dragon. With all of them working together, they could barely even scratch him. The dragon was about to destroy them and the island, but the spirit of Fairy Tail's founder used the "power of their feelings" to cast some kind of shield around the island. However, she made an exception for Lucy. She brought her here, to be trained by me." he finally finished. "According to what I've gathered from what they've both told me."

Will was silent, taking a moment to process all this. He felt slightly dizzy and confused. "You're not . . . just pulling my leg on this are you."

Halt looked him dead in the eyes, face as serious as ever. "Do I look like I'm pulling your leg?"

" . . . No." Will said decidedly. "So then . . . Lucy really can . . . use magic . . . Why did this . . . spirit bring her here to be trained by you specifically?"

The grizzled Ranger sighed again. "I honestly don't know. She said something about how Lucy had the potential to become very powerful, but she didn't have the confidence and has a lot of self-doubt, and to overcome that, she needs to be trained by best Ranger . . . Which she believes to be me."

"But then . . . doesn't restricting her from using magic kind of . . . go against what that spirit wanted?" asked Will.

Halt raised an eyebrow. "Why should I care what this spirit wants? It wanted me to train her, and I am, but she can't be using magic. It's far too flashy for what we do." he explained.

"But . . . Lucy's pretty smart. She'd know when the best time to use her magic is, and . . . it seems to me that not allowing her to us her magic is making her even more homesick . . . she probably really misses her world."

Halt was silent. He'd figured that was the case, and if what Lucy had told him was true, then he was basically forbidding her from ever seeing what friends she had left while she was in this world . . . and he had no idea how long that would be. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't grown fond of her. She was honest and kind, even if she had a bit of a temper. His mind went to the keys that were locked away inside his room.

• • •

Lucy stormed angrily around Redmont. Finally, she sat down to sulk under a tree. She hugged her knees to her chest and closed her eyes as she thought about all her friends at Fairy Tail that she was her without, and the ones that Halt was essentially forbidding her from seeing. Tears began leaking out from behind her closed eyelids as her homesickness hit her full force.

"Everyone . . . I miss you." she said quietly to herself, sniffling.

She was so distracted that she didn't even notice a certain scrawny scribe approaching her. George stared and stiffened in shock as he saw Lucy begin crying under the tree. He had just been taking a walk to get some fresh air and clear his head when he had spotted the blonde girl. The former ward had never gotten the chance to apologize to her after what happened at the library, so he had approached her to do so. However, when he saw her start crying, he froze in his tracks.

George didn't have the first clue on how to comfort a crying girl, and it wasn't exactly something you could read in textbooks . . . But he couldn't just leave her there, crying all by herself. Well . . . he could . . . but it wouldn't be the ethical or right choice to make. Making a decision he wasn't sure if he was going to regret or not, he stepped closer and cleared his throat awkwardly, making Lucy's head snap up in surprise.

"Oh . . . George." she said, quickly wiping away her tears. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I uh . . . I came here to . . . apologize to you . . . for not believing you back at the library." said George. "I never really got a chance to until now."

Lucy cocked her head at him before giggling. "What? That little thing? It's alright, I'd already forgiven you a long time ago."

"Oh . . . " said George, unsure of what else to say. He sat down next to her. "So . . . what's the matter? Why are you out here crying all by yourself?"

"It's . . . really nothing to worry about . . . I just . . . really miss all my friends, and my home." said Lucy. "They're all . . . really far away from here, so it's impossible for me to visit them."

"You could talk to me about if you would like?" George suggested. "I'm good at talking . . . and listening too!" he added quickly.

Lucy blinked at him before giggling, which broke out into a full on laugh. "Ah ha ha ha! Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh." she said, calming herself down and smiling brightly at him. "Thank you, that sounds wonderful, I'd love to talk with you."

• • •

Lucy was in a significantly better mood when she returned, having been able to talk to someone. Will had already gone to sleep but Halt had stayed up waiting for her. He'd had a little while to think during the time she was gone and had come to realize that perhaps he had been a bit unreasonable, and that Lucy's response to his restrictions were . . . understandable, given her situation. And Will was correct, Lucy was a smart girl, she'd know when would be the appropriate time to summon her spirits.

"Sit down." Halt told Lucy when she came in.

Reluctantly she did so and they sat in silence like that for a while until she finally said, "I'm sorry for being so . . . difficult lately. I know you have your reasons from forbidding me from summoning my spirits, but they're the only friends I have remaining from my home, everyone else is still there. I feel like . . . I at least need to see them . . . They're my friends."

Halt waited a couple moments before reaching in his pocket. "I accept your apology. But, I was also wrong. You were brought here, away from everything you knew, and I shouldn't have forbidden you from using your magic and summoning your spirits, which is essentially your only remaining connection to . . . the world you're from. But, you're a clever enough girl, so I'm going to trust you to be smart enough to know when you can, and when you can't, summon your . . . friends." said Halt as he placed her keychain on the table.

Her eyes widened and she looked between the keys and Halt. Then a wide grin spread across her face. "Really?!" she exclaimed.

Halt only answered with a single nod of confirmation. Lucy squealed in excitement and leaned across the table to hug him. Like the previous time she hugged him, Halt stiffened in surprise, and maybe a little in discomfort. Thankfully, she quickly pulled away, grabbing her keys to hug them to her chest.

"Oh I'm so happy! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said ecstatically.

"Yes yes, we're all very happy, now why don't you get to bed and tomorrow . . . you can introduce Will and I to all your spirits and tell us what they do." said Halt.

Giggling, she came around and hugged Halt a second time. "Of course! Good night Halt!" she called, practically dancing to her and Will's bedroom.

The grizzled Ranger sighed heavily. "I have a feeling I'm going to regret this."


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Fairy Tail or Ranger's Apprentice.

The next morning, Halt had Lucy and Will go around to the back of the cabin after breakfast. Will hadn't been made aware about the deal that Lucy and Halt had made the previous night so meeting the spirits would surprise him, but he did notice the keychain pouch that now adorned her belt. Lucy had a feeling she knew why Halt wanted them all back here. Her suspicions were soon confirmed.

"Alright Lucy, bring them out, and let's see what they can do." said Halt, turning to Lucy.

"Well, it's probably best if I start with the silver key spirits, since they take less energy." said Lucy, taking one of the silver keys from her keychain.

Will looked confused. "Wait what?"

Ignoring him, Lucy recited the summoning spell for the key she had selected. "Open, Gate of the Southern Cross! I summon thee, Crux!" she called out, summoning the old spirit.

He floated in midair. The spirit's head was shaped like a plus sign and he had a mustache that looked like two diagonal upside down crosses. "Oh, hello Miss Lucy, what can I do for you?"

"Nothing really, I just wanted to introduce you to Halt and Will. Halt, Will, this is Crux, the Celestial Spirit of the Southern Cross, but I call him Grandpa Crux. He looks up information for me when I ask him." Lucy said.

Halt nodded, grunting in interest. Will was staring in shock at the old spirit. Lucy dismissed the Southern Cross and reached for another silver key.

"Woah wait!" Will exclaimed. "What is-What was-I mean who-Why?!" he stammered, not sure how to wrap his head around this.

Halt shook his head at Will. "Always asking so many questions. I already told you Lucy had magic, this is the magic she has. She can summon spirits from the celestial realm to aid her. Now, Lucy, continue."

"O-okay, well um, this next pokemon is very popular among Celestial Mages and since it's a silver key, it doesn't take a lot of energy to keep the gate open, making them kind of like pets. Open, Gate of the Little Dog! I summon thee, Nikora!" Lucy called out.

The result of the summoning was this strange . . . thing. It was white, weak looking, and its nose looked like a carrot. Halt's brows shot up.

"What . . . is that supposed to be?" he asked.

Lucy scowled at him. "Isn't it obvious? It's a dog." she said.

"No . . . no it's not." said Halt.

"Yes, it is." Lucy said in a tone that said that the conversation was over before dismissing spirit. She grabbed another key. "Open, Gate of the Harp! I summon thee, Lyra!" she called out.

With the signature golden light that came from Lucy's summoning magic, a very cheerful girl in a blue dress and small angel wings appeared and immediately hugged Lucy. "Lucy-sama! It's been too long, you should really summon me more!" she said cheerily before releasing her key holder.

Lucy smiled at her. "I'd love to, Lyra, but I can only summon you three times a month remember?"

"Aww! No way!" Lyra whined. "That's too bad."

"Wait, why can you only summon her three times a month? What is it exactly that she does?" asked Halt, curious as to why she could only be summoned three times a month.

"Well, I can only summon her three times a month because that's what's in her contract with me. And as for what she does, Lyra, is an expert harpist and an absolutely wonderful singer." she answered as she dismissed Lyra. They had the whole day ahead of them and the two apprentices had training to do today so Lucy was trying to quickly get through the introductions. She grabbed the last of her silver keys. "Open, Gate of the Clock! I summon thee, Horologium!"

A strange looking contraption appeared. It was tall and rectangular, like a wardrobe but was thinner. There was clear glass framed by the door that was part of his body. Horologium had stick arms and short stick legs. His face was round and his chest had circular design on it with the roman numerals for 12, 3, 6, and 9 marking the edges at regular intervals, and two tick marks between each number. Halt know what a clock was, so these confused him. But then again, he expected to see many stranger things among Lucy's spirits.

"This is Horologium. He protects me from the elements, and he can appear in emergencies to protect me or my friends from damage. He saved Wendy like that." said Lucy, dismissing the spirit. She grabbed one of her gold keys. "Now, I might not be able to introduce you to all of my Zodiac spirits, since their gates take more magical energy to open. So I'll start with one you two have already met. Open, Gate of the Lion! I summon thee, Leo!"

With a golden light, Loke appeared and Will's eyes widened. The suit wearing spirit knelt and took Lucy's hand, kissing it gently. "You summoned, Princess?" he said in his usual manner of greeting her.

"Yeah." said Lucy slowly as she pried her hand from his. "Will, Halt, this Leo, or as my friends I call him, Loke. He uses light based attacks and is a hand to hand combatant." she stated before dismissing him. It also took energy to keep their gates open so again, she was trying to get through the introductions as quickly as possible. She grabbed another key. "Open, Gate of the Golden Bull!" Lucy seemed slightly reluctant to summon this one. "I summon thee, Tauros!"

"Mrrrooo!" Tauros as he appeared, speedo, giant axe, and all. "I'll protect Lucy's sexy body!" he declared loudly, making the blonde mage facepalm.

Will's jaw dropped in shock and Halt's expression completely deadpanned. "This is Tauros, he's the strongest of my spirits, physically anyway." The spirit opened his mouth to say something perverted but was quickly dismissed by Lucy. It wasn't his fault, it was just the way he was. "Anyway, Halt already met this next one. Open, Gate of the Archer! I summon thee, Sagittarius!"

"Moshi moshi." the man in a horse costume, saluting.

"This is Sagittarius. He's an amazing archer, he's never missed a single shot, and can fire multiple arrows at once." Lucy said before dismissing him. She was already beginning to feel the drain on her energy, and she still had seven spirits to go. "Open, Gate of the Giant Crab! I summon thee, Cancer!"

"How may I serve you, Ebi?" Cancer said as he snipped his scissors.

"There's nothing really, I'm just introducing all my spirits to Halt and Will. This is Cancer, his scissors can cut through almost anything and he makes a great hair stylist." said Lucy before dismissing the spirit and grabbing another golden key. "Open, Gate of the Ram! I summon thee, Aries!"

Will turned beet red at the appearance of Aries. Halt respectfully averted his eyes and whacked the back of Will's head to make him stop staring. "U-u-u-um, wh-what can I-I do for y-y-you M-Miss Lu-Lucy?" she asked timidly.

"Nothing, Aries, I'm just introducing you. This is Aries, she uses wool magic, she can make people stop wanting to fight, and can provide cushioning from hard impacts like falling and such." Lucy dismissed Aries and grabbed another key. "Open, Gate of the Scorpion! I summon thee, Scorpio!"

"Yeah! Rock on!" Scorpio said in the way he did.

"This is Scorpio, he uses sand magic to blast enemies with sand." Lucy dismissed Scorpio and grabbed another golden key. She was starting to get exhausted, but she could summon one more spirit. "Open, Gate of the Maiden! I summon thee, Virgo!"

"Punishment, Lucy-sama?" asked Virgo.

"No. Halt, Will, this is Virgo. She can dig tunnels in seconds and often provide me with spare clothing when the ones I'm wearing are ruined. Which . . . happens more often than you might think." she said before dismissing the spirit.

Will was still blushing from the sight of the scantily clad Aries and Virgo, and Halt could see that not only did Will need a distraction, but Lucy needed rest as well. "Will, I think you should get to your training. And Lucy, go take a nap. I'll wake you in an hour so you can continue your training."

Lucy nodded and went back to the cabin to take a nap and restore some of her energy, while Will promptly set about carrying out Halt's order. Just as promised, Halt woke Lucy up an hour later and she joined Will in his training, going into further detail about her spirits and her magic in the process as they trained. She would show them the rest of her spirits tomorrow.

The next day, they did the same thing. The three had breakfast and then went behind the cabin. Lucy only had three more spirits to introduce to the two, and Lucy had brought some water in preparation for the last spirit she was planning to summon.

She grabbed one of the three remaining golden keys. "Open, Gate of the Twins! I summon thee, Gemini!" Two small, floating, doll-like spirits appeared. "This is Gemi and Mini, they can copy the appearance, behavior, memory, and abilities of anyone they touch, but for only five minutes. If they copy someone else, they can't change into the person that they had copied previously." she explained before dismissing them. "The person they're currently able to change into is me. This next one is my most recently acquired spirit. Open, Gate of the Goat! I summon thee, Capricorn!"

The smartly dressed goat man appeared in a flash of golden light and bowed to Lucy in greeting. "It is a pleasure to serve Layla-sama's daughter."

Lucy smiled at the spirit kindly. "I'm not exactly sure what the extent of his capabilities are yet, but I know he's really good at hand to hand combat." she said before dismissing the spirit. "Now, this one I saved for last because she's the strongest of all my spirits, and I've also known her the longest." Lucy plunged the key into the water she brought as she recited, "Open, Gate of the Water Bearer! I summon thee, Aquarius!"

When the magical light faded, Will and Halt were both left staring at what could only be called a mermaid . . . that was hovering in midair. Her eyes were closed and her brows were furrowed. Suddenly they opened and she fixed both Lucy and Halt with a death glare.

"Hey you, old man, don't you ever confiscate my key from Lucy again, or I'll kick your ass. AND YOU, you little brat, don't you dare ever let someone take your keys from you again." she said in an extremely threatening and intimidating manner. "Anyway, I'm going back. Don't bother me for a bit, I'm going to be going on a date. With my boyfriend." Aquarius said, adding a little bit more emphasis on boyfriend.

Lucy didn't really seem to be bothered by the threats, she seemed used to it in fact. She was more bothered by the boyfriend comment. "Anyway, Aquarius uses water magic and can perform powerful area attacks . . . which I usually get caught up in, but I'm used to it, and that's just the way she's always been."

" . . . What was the deal with the boyfriend part?" asked Will.

Lucy sighed in irritation. "Aquarius and Scorpio are dating, and she likes to rub it in my face that she has a boyfriend and I don't."

"So, those were your spirit huh?" asked Halt.

"Yeah." said Lucy.

". . . Is there any way you can convince them to be less . . . conspicuous looking? At least more decently clothed." he asked.

"I suppose I could ask them." said Lucy.

"Well, you should get on that. In the meantime, both of you should get to training. We'll be leaving for the meeting in a week." Halt said before leaving to take care of some business, leaving his apprentices to train.


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Ranger's Apprentice or Fairy Tail.

Soon after Halt and Will had been introduced to Lucy's spirits, they departed for the annual Ranger's Gathering. Three days later would find Halt scowling. He could hear his apprentices playing with Plue, the strange wobbly creature that Lucy had summoned before. They were trying to be quiet about it, but Halt could still hear them. He supposed it kept Will from asking "Are we there yet?" every ten minutes, so he was somewhat grateful for that. But he was expecting a certain something to happen and need them to be quiet. Well, perhaps need was a strong word, want would be more accurate.

"Alright you two, that's enough playing around." Halt told his pupils.

Groaning in disappointment, Lucy dismissed Plue. After a few moments of silence, the two apprentices noticed a different smell in the air. Will had never smelled it before, but Lucy had, so it was a given that she was the one who asked, "Are we by the sea?" Halt had confirmed this with a curt nod. More silence followed and it seemed that Halt was not willing to elaborate any further on the subject. Occasionally, Halt would check up into the trees that flanked the road.

"Are you looking for something?" asked Will.

"Finally, a useful question." Halt responded. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. The Chief Ranger will have sentries out around the Gathering Ground. I always like to try to fool them as I'm approaching.

"Why?" asked Lucy.

Halt smiled slightly. "It keeps them on their toes. They'll try to slip behind us and follow us in, just so they can say they've ambushed me. It's a silly game they like to play."

"Why is it silly?" asked Will, as it sounded like the kind of exercises that Halt had him and Lucy do on a regular basis.

Halt turned in his saddle to look at his male apprentice. "Because they never succeed. And this year they'll be trying even harder because they know I'm bringing two apprentices. They'll want to see how good you are."

"Is this part of the testing?" asked Will.

Halt nodded in affirmation. "It's part of it. Do you two remember what I told you last night?"

Both Lucy and Will nodded. During the traveling, Halt had instructed them on how to act at the Gathering, as well as devised tactics with them in case of an ambush . . . sort of like what Halt had just mentioned. Will started to say something but stopped as Halt went on full alert.

"Hear it?" he asked.

Lucy and Will strained their ears, listening. They caught a hint of hoofbeats behind them, though the hoofbeats of their own horses masked the sound. With Halt's signal, the three simultaneously nudged their steeds to switch gaits. It changed the pattern of the hoofbeats and Lucy and Will heard it, if only for an instant. This time they definitely heard the signs of another horse following them, before that horse's gait changed to match theirs.

"Ranger horse. It'll be Gilan for sure." Halt told them quietly.

"How do you know?" asked Lucy.

"Only a Ranger horse can change pace that quickly. And it'll be Gilan because it's always Gilan. He loves trying to catch me out."

"Why?" asked Will.

"Because he was my last apprentice. And for some reason, former apprentices jut love to catch their former masters with their breeches down." Halt explained, looking accusingly at his two current apprentices.

Neither of them protested or tried to defend themselves at the subtle accusation, knowing that in the future, if they became full-fledged Rangers, that they would partake in the same type behavior. Halt pointed at a branch ahead of them on the path. The branch belonged to a large tree on the side of the trail. The particular branch in question was hanging just above head height.

"That's the spot there. Ready?" he asked.

Will nodded after studying the branch. As they neared the tree, Will kicked his feet free from the stirrups and crouched on Tug's saddle. Tug's pace and gait gave away nothing. As they passed under the branches, Will reached up and pulled himself up on the lowest branch while Tug made his gait more forceful as his rider's weight was lifted from his body, so Gilan wouldn't know that the pony's load had become lighter. Will silently climbed the tree as Halt and Lucy continued.

When they reached the next bent, Halt urged Tug to continue while he and Lucy stopped their steeds. Halt dismounted and pretended to study the ground for tracks. Lucy followed suit. One thing was for sure, Lucy had proven to be a good actress. The sound of the soft hoofbeats stopped.

"Halt, Halt!" a cheery voice called out behind them, causing Lucy to turn. Halt turned and slowly rose to his feet, brushing the dirt from his knees as he went.

The man, Gilan, grinned at them as he leaned on his longbow. "Lo, Lucy!"

"Well, Gilan." Halt said as Lucy waved in greeting to Gilan. "I see you're still making that old joke."

"The joke appears to be on you this year, Halt." Gilan said cheerily.

"Really, Gilan? And what joke would that be, I wonder?" Halt responded.

"Come now, Halt. Admit it. For once I've got the best of you-and you know how many years I've been trying." Gilan said with amusement.

"He's got a point, Halt. No one's perfect, after all. It kinda gives me hope for beating you one day." Lucy said, not realizing she'd spoken as if she was going to be staying for longer than the seven years that Mavis was going to be leaving her here.

"See, she gets it." said Gilan.

Halt rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "It beats me why you keep on trying, Gilan, as a matter of fact."

To this, Gilan laughed. "You should know how much pleasure it gives an ex-apprentice to get the better of his master, Halt. Now come on. Admit it. This year, I've won."

Neither Lucy or Halt had moved from their positions. Their unperturbed manner was starting to bother him, and this was shown by the fact that Gilan had started shifting his weight from foot to foot. Suddenly, Gilan got the impression he was forgetting something extremely important. Halt's next words confirmed his suspicions.

"Ah, yes . . . apprentices and master. They're a strange combination, all right. But tell me, Gilan, my old apprentice, aren't you forgetting something this year?"

Gilan finally remembered what he was forgetting and began to turn his head. And that's when Will fired his arrow. It hissed past the tall Ranger and thudded into the trunk of the tree Will had chosen. He reeled back in surprise and shock, before his eyes locked on to Will's hiding spot. Upon spotting the small gray and green clad figure, he shook his head ruefully.

"Come down, Will," Halt called to his other apprentice. "And meet Gilan, one of our more careless Rangers." Halt shook his head at his former apprentice. "I told you when you were a boy didn't I? Never be too hasty. Don't rush into things."

"Isn't there a saying for this sort of thing?" asked Lucy. "Don't count your chickens until the eggs have hatched?"

"That's a good saying." Halt said as Gilan nodded, looking somewhat crestfallen.

Will dropped to the ground from the lowest branch, drawing Gilan's attention. "It appears, that I was so intent on catching myself an old gray fox and the bubbly bunny that I overlooked the small monkey hiding in the trees." Gilan said with a good-natured grin.

"Monkey, is it? I'd say he's made a monkey out of you today." Halt said gruffly. "Will, this Gilan, my former apprentice and now Ranger of Meric Fief-although what they did to deserve him is beyond me."

Gilan's grin widened at that and held his hand out to Will. "And just as I was thinking I'd finally gotten the better of your, Halt." Will grasped his hand and they shook firmly. "So you're Will, I'm pleased to meet you. That was a neat piece of work, young fellow."

"Yes, I'm Will." he said. "Could you perhaps teach me how you move like that? It was brilliant."

Gilan laughed ruefully at that. "Not too brilliant, I think. You obviously saw me coming from a long way away."

Will shook his head. "I saw you when you arrived. And I saw where you'd been. But I never once saw you from when you rounded that bend. I wish I could move like that."

Gilan was clearly pleased by the sincere compliment. "Well, Halt, I see this young fellow doesn't merely have talent. He has excellent manners as well. And Lucy, that was some acting you did. I didn't have a clue that it was a trap."

"Well, I've had some experience with acting." Lucy admitted.

Having watched the three exchange greetings, Lucy and Gilan having already met, Halt decided to have his turn greeting his former apprentice. They exchanged some quick, good-natured jibes at each other before Gilan whistled for his horse. The horse quickly appeared and Gilan mounted it. That's when Will noticed something hanging from the saddle.

He leaned over and asked Halt quietly, "I thought we weren't allowed to have swords?"

Halt seemed confused for a moment, then realized what prompted the question. "It's not that we're not allowed, it's a matter of priorities. It takes years to become a good swordsman and we don't have the time. We have other skills to develop. Gilan's father is a knight, so Gilan had already been training with the sword for some years before he joined the Rangers. He was considered a special case and he was allowed to continue that training when he was apprenticed to me."

"But I thought . . . " Will hesitated to finish as Gilan was trotting towards them and wasn't sure if it was polite to ask in front of the man.

"Never say that in front of Halt. He'll simply reply, "You're an apprentice. You're not ready to think." or, "if you thought about it, you wouldn't ask." Gilan stated, having heard the last three words.

Will smiled and Lucy giggled. "Oh, trust me, we're well aware." she said.

He finally decided to finish his question. "If Gilan's father was a knight, wasn't he automatically eligible for Battleschool? Or did they think he was too small as well?"

The two older males exchanged looks, but it was Lucy who spoke. "He may have been eligible, but that doesn't mean he necessarily wanted to become a knight like his father. I . . . probably wouldn't be here today if I had done what was expected of me because of my father. But I also wouldn't have so many fond and happy memories, or so many people that I can call my family.

"Lucy's right. I could have gone to Battleschool, but I chose to join the Rangers." Gilan said, further instating her point.

"Some of us do, you know." Halt interjected mildly.

"But I thought . . . " Will began again.

"You're an apprentice. You're not ready to think." Gilan and Halt chorused at Will.

With that, they trotted off, continuing on to the Gathering. Will retrieved Tug and followed after them. Before Will caught up, Halt managed to inform Gilan that Will was in the know about Lucy's magical abilities. After the four rode in silence for several minutes, Will couldn't keep the burning question from his lips that had entered his mind during their previous conversation.

"So, Lucy, what would have become if you'd become . . . what your father wanted you to?"

Lucy became uncomfortable at the question. "It's . . . not something I like discussing."

Will looked guilty. "Oh . . . sorry. I didn't mean to . . . "

"It's okay, you didn't mean anything by it." Lucy said.

Gilan decided the conversation needed a drastic change of subject. "Lucy, you said you acted?"

Lucy was a bit surprised the change of subject, but it was no less welcome. "Um, yeah. My team and I got a job where to take major roles in a play. And . . . one time I used them to escape from a cell."

"A cell?" Halt asked in surprise. "What were you doing in a cell?"

"Well . . . you remember how I told you that a Dark Guild tried to use me to extort money from my father?" Halt nodded, while Will and Gilan looked at her in surprise. "Well, the first time they captured me, they put me in a cell at the top of a tower. After the guild master told me what he planned to do, I . . . told him I needed to pee. He didn't fall for it at first, but when I acted like I really had to, he turned around."

"What'd you do then?" Gilan asked, curious.

"I kicked him in the balls as hard as I could." Lucy said, causing the three men to cringe at the image.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side." said Gilan, shifting in his saddle.

"Admittedly . . . that was a very clever twist to the one of the oldest tricks in the book." said Halt. "Though I imagine it would be far less likely to work if it was a man trying to pull the trick."

It took the men awhile to get the image of that poor guild master out of their heads, so they rode in silence the rest of the way to the Gathering.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Fairy Tail or Ranger's Apprentice.

"Something's happened," Halt said quietly, signaling the others to rein in their horses.

Small tents were set up in ordered ranks, there was an archery range set up to one side, and several dozen shaggy ranger ponies were grazing close to the trees. Even from where they were, they could see the sense of urgency in the activity of the camp. In the center of the lines of tents was a large pavilion and they could see a group of rangers standing around a table in deep conversation. One of the men left and got on his horse, heading down a narrow track on the far side of the encampment. The man was barely out of sight before another came galloping, his horse barely came to a stop before he dismounted to join the group in the tent.

"What's going on?" asked Lucy.

Even as they watched, several of the small tents were being taken down and rolled up by their owners. "Not sure. See if you can find us a decent campsite. I'll see what's going on." said Halt. He urged Abelard forward, calling back to them, "Don't pitch the tents yet. From the looks of things, we may not be needing them," before galloping towards the main tent.

Lucy, Will, and Gilan found a place to camp that was somewhat close to the central gathering area. They all sat on a log to wait for Halt to return. Since Halt had a senior ranking in the Ranger Corps, he had access to the large pavilion, which, as Gilan explained, was the command tent. Most of the tents near them were unoccupied, but outside one was a thin and gangly Ranger that was pacing in front of his tent, looking just as confused as Gilan and the two apprentices. Seeing them, he came over to join them.

"Any news?" he asked.

We were just about to ask you the same question," Gilan responded, causing the newcomer's expression to fall. Gilan held out his hand, "It's Merron, isn't it?" he asked as they shook hands.

"That's right. And you're Gilan if I remember correctly." said Merron.

"Correct. Lucy, Will, this is Merton, Merton, this Will, Halt's apprentice, and Lucy, also Halt's apprentice. But I'm sure you must remember her from last year." Gilan said, introducing them.

"Of course I remember. Who could forget?" said Merron. "And we wondered what you two would be like. I was going to be one of your assessors, you know."

"Going to be?" Gilan asked.

Merron turned to Gilan. "Yes, I doubt we'll continue with the Gathering now . . . You mean you haven't heard?" When they shook their heads, he continued. "Morgarath is up to something again."

The name sent a shiver of fear up Will's spine. "What's happened?" asked Gilan, his eyes narrowing.

Merron shook his head. "There's no clear news so far. Only garbled reports. But it looks as if a force of Wargals broke out of Three Step Pass some days ago. They overran the sentries there and headed north."

During the time that Halt was training her, he had given Lucy a brief history of their country as there was too little time for her to get something in depth. It was because of this that Lucy was not lost as to who Morgarath was, or what Wargals were. She remained silent as she continued to listen to the conversation.

"Was Morgarath with them?" asked Gilan.

Merron shrugged. "We don't know. Don't think so at this stage, but Crowley has been sending scouts out for the past two days. Could be it's just a raid. But if it's more than that, it could mean the start of another war. If so, it's a bad time to lose Lord Lorriac."

Gilan looked up at that, concerned. "Lorriac is dead?"

Merron nodded. "A stroke apparently. Or his heart. He was found dead a few days ago, with not a mark on him. Staring straight ahead. Stone cold dead."

"That's horrible!" Lucy said.

"But he was in his prime!" Gilan exclaimed. "I saw him only a month ago and he was as healthy as a bull."

Merron shrugged again. "I suppose it can happen to anyone. You just never know."

"Who's Lord Lorriac?" Lucy asked, uttering the same question that Will had been about to ask.

Gilan shook his head in though. "Lorriac of Steden. He was the leader of the King's heavy cavalry. Probably our best cavalry commander. As Merron said, if there's a war, he'll be sorely missed."

Fear gripped Will's heart while Lucy didn't seem that concerned. "Isn't that a bit strange? The best cavalry commander dies right when there's a chance that Morgarath might be planning another war?"

"Hm . . . when you put it like that . . . It is a bit coincidental, but he died of natural causes." said Gilan.

It was nearly an hour before Halt joined them again. Will and Lucy had prepared a meal since it was midday. Halt dismounted Abelard and accepted a plate from Will, eating the food quickly.

"The Gathering's over." he said between mouthfuls.

"Is it war?" Merron asked anxiously.

Halt shook his head. "We don't know for certain. Latest reports show that Morgarath is still in the mountains."

"Then why did the Wargals break out?" asked Will, knowing the Wargals only followed the will of Morgarath.

Expression grim, Halt answered, "There's only a small party, perhaps fifty of them. They were intended to act as a diversion. While our guards were busy chasing the Wargals, Crowley thinks that the two Kalkara slipped out of the mountains and are holed up somewhere on the Solitary Plain."

Merron stepped back in surprise, and Gilan gave a low whistle. Gilan and Merron looked horrified while Lucy and Will looked confused, not actually knowing what Kalkara were.

"You mean they still exist?" Merron asked. "I thought they died out years ago!"

"Oh, they still exist all right," said Halt. "There are only two of them left, but that's enough to worry about."

Silence prevailed after that, until Lucy hesitantly asked, "Um . . . sorry, but what are Kalkara."

Halt shook his head. It was not something he wished to discuss with people as young as Will and Lucy. But he knew that with what lay ahead of them, they needed to know. "When Morgarath was planning his rebellion, he wanted more than an ordinary army. He knew that if he could terrify his enemies, his task would be far easier. So over the years, he made several expeditions into the Mountains of Rain and Night, searching."

"Searching for what?" Will asked before Lucy could.

"For allies he could use against the kingdom. The mountains are an ancient, undisturbed part of the world. They've remained unchanged for centuries and there were rumors that strange beasts and ancient monsters still lived there. The rumors turned out to be all too true."

"Like the Wargals?" Lucy asked.

Halt nodded. "Yes, like the Wargals. And he very quickly enslaved them and bent them to his will," he said with a touch of bitterness. "but then he found the Kalkara. And they're worse than Wargals. Much, much worse. There were three of them, but one was killed about eight years ago, so we know a little more about them. Think of a creature that looks somewhere between an ape and a bear, that walks upright, and you'll have an idea of what a Kalkara looks like."

"So does Morgarath control them with his mind? Like the Wargals?" Will asked.

"No," Halt said, shaking his head. "They're more intelligent than Wargals, but they are totally obsessed with silver. They worship it and hoard it and Morgarath apparently gives it to them in large amounts so they'll do his bidding. And they do it well. They can be incredibly cunning while they stalk their prey."

"Prey? What kind of prey?" Lucy asked, perhaps unnecessarily.

Halt and Gilan exchanged a glance and it was clear that Halt was reluctant to discuss this topic. For a moment, it seemed like Halt was going to scold them for asking too many questions again. But they realized it was significantly more serious than idle curiosity as Halt replied, "The Kalkara are assassins. Once they've been given a specific victim, they will do anything in their power to reach that person and kill them."

"Can't we stop them?" Will asked.

"They're very difficult to kill. They have a thick hair covering that's matted and bonded together so that it's almost like scales. An arrow will hardly penetrate. A battle-axe or a broadsword is the best against them. Or a good thrust with a heavy spear might do the job." Halt told him.

"So was it a knight who killed the one eight years ago?" he asked.

Halt shook his head. "Not a knight. Three. It took three fully armed knights to kill it, and only one of them survived the battle. What's more, he was crippled for life," he said grimly.

"That's awful!" said Lucy.

"Three men? All of them knights? But how-?" Will began to ask before Gilan interrupted.

"The problem is, if you get close enough to use a sword or spear, the Kalkara can usually stop you before you have a chance." he said, fingers drumming on the hilt of his sword.

"How does it stop you?" asked Lucy.

Merron answered this time. "Its eyes. If you look into its eyes, you are frozen helpless, the way a snake freezes a bird with its gaze before it kills it."

"Freezes you . . . how can it do that? Are you talking about magic here?" Will asked.

"Some people call it magic. I think it's more likely a form of hypnotism. Either way, Merron is right. If a Kalkara can make you look into its eyes, you become paralyzed by sheer terror, unable to do anything to save yourself." Halt said, causing Will to look about anxiously.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Will asked, hopelessness tainting his voice.

Shrugging, Halt said, "Legend has it that they are particularly vulnerable to fire. Problem is, as before, getting close enough to do any damage. Carrying a naked flame makes it a little difficult to stalk a Kalkara. They tend to hunt at night and can see you coming."

"Lucy, can any of your spirits use fire?" Will asked, noticing she had this thoughtful look on her face.

She looked up at him and shook her head. "No, but . . . one of my guild mates, Evergreen, has a secondary magic called, "Stone Eyes". Whenever someone looks into her eyes, they turn to stone, but the user can undo the spell. Just so she doesn't turn someone to stone every time they look her in the eyes, she wears glasses, which stops the spell. Likewise, if someone were to wear glasses, the spell wouldn't effect them, even if Evergreen were to remove her glasses. I was wondering . . . if we might be able to employ the same tactic with the Kalkara . . . " said Lucy.

"Hm . . . it could be possible. But where would we get these glasses from?" asked Halt.

"I could ask Virgo . . . she's always making me cute outfits, so maybe she could get us something." Lucy said.

Halt nodded. "That could be worth asking about."

There was a bit of an awkward silence then, which was broken by Gilan when he asked, "What makes Crowley think that Morgarath is using them?"

There was a moment of hesitation before Halt answered. "He's already used them twice in the past year, to kill Lord Northolt and Lord Lorriac." When he saw their puzzled looks, he continued. "Northolt was thought to be killed by a bear, remember?"

Will and Lucy nodded. The first day Will was Halt's apprentice, he'd gotten the news of the supreme commander's death. Lucy had been informed of this news when she rejoined Halt.

"I thought at the time that Northolt was too skilled a hunter to be killed that way. Crowley evidently agrees." Halt finished.

"But what about Lorriac? Everyone said it was a stroke." Merron said.

"You'd heard that, had you? Well, his physician was most surprised. Said he'd never seen a healthier man. On the other hand . . . " Halt said, pausing.

"It could have been the work of the Kalkara." Lucy finished, seeing where this was going.

Halt nodded. "Exactly. We don't know the full effects of the freezing stare they've developed. Maintained over a long enough time, the terror could well be enough to stop a man's heart. And there were vague reports that a large, dark animal was seen in the area.

Once again, silence settled over them. Around them, the other Rangers bustled about their business until Halt roused their small group from their thoughts. "We'd best be moving. Merron, you'll need to return to your fief, Crowly wants the army alerted and mobilized. Orders will be distributed in a few minutes."

Merron nodded and turned towards his campsite, but paused and turned back to them. Something about the way Halt had spoken made him ask. "What about you three? Where are you going?"

Even before he answered, Lucy and Will sensed what Halt was going to say.

"We're going after the Kalkara."


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Fairy Tail or Ranger's Apprentice.

The Rangers still present at the Gathering were taking down their one-man tents and repacking their equipment onto their saddles. Since Halt returned to them, several Rangers had already left for their own fiefs. Will and Lucy had already put away the few items they had taken out of the saddlebags. Halt was studying a map of the area of the Solitary Plain, a vast and unmapped area with no roads and few landmarks.

Lucy, Will, Halt, and Gilan set out together awhile later. They said little as they rode southwest towards the Plains. In this situation, their minds went to Lucy, the only person in their group that had magical abilities to assist them in this fight. Finally, Will broke the silence.

"Halt, where do you hope to find the Kalkara?"

Halt turned to look at him. Before Will would get an answer, Halt decided it was time for them to rest. They dismounted and took the horses to a grove of trees to allow them to graze. Only after that did Halt answer his question.

"The best way I can think of, is to start at their lair and see if they're in the vicinity."

"Do you know where their lair is?" asked Lucy.

"Best intelligence we have is that it's somewhere on the Solitary Plain, beyond the Stone Flutes. We'll scout around that area and see what we can find. If they're in the area, we should find that the odd sheep or goat is going missing from villages nearby. Although getting the villagers themselves to talk will be another matter. Plains people are a closemouthed bunch at the best of times." said Halt.

"What's this Plain you're talking about?" asked Will past a mouthful of bread. "And what on earth is a Stone Flute?"

"The Solitary Plain is a vast, flat area. Very few trees, mainly covered in rock outcrops and long grass. The wind seems to always be blowing, no matter what time of year you go there. It's a dismal, depressing place and the Stone Flutes are the most dismal part of it," said Halt.

"But what are-?" Will tried to ask before Halt continued.

"The Stone Flutes? Nobody really knows. They're a circle of standing stone built by the ancients, smack in the middle of the windiest part of the Plain. Nobody has ever worked out their original purpose, but they're arranged in such a way that the wind is deflected around the circle and through a series of holes in the stones themselves. They create a constant keening sound, although why anyone thought they sounded like flutes is beyond me. The sound is eerie and discordant and you can hear it from kilometers away. After a few minutes, it sets your teeth on edge . . . and it goes on and on for hours."

Will was silent as he thought about a depressing, windswept plain where stone flutes constantly emitted a keening wail. The thought caused him to shiver. Halt clapped him on the back.

"Cheer up. Nothing's ever as bad as it sounds. Now let's get some rest."

After resting for the night, they set out in the morning. By midday, they had reached the edge of the Solitary Plains. The two apprentices would see that Halt had been right, the Plains were a vast and depressing place, featureless ground covered in tall, gray, dry grass stretched on for kilometers. The wind blew constantly from the west, bending the grass as it blew across the flat ground.

"Now you can see why they call it the Solitary Plain," Halt told them. "When you ride out into this damned wind, you feel as if you're the only person left alive on earth."

Lucy looked down at the pink guild mark on the back of her hand with a sad expression. She found what Halt said to be true. It really did make the world feel cold and empty. She was happy here, true. She wasn't considered weak here, she had friends, and she still had her spirits, but Lucy longed for the company of her friends and guildmates from Fairy Tail. When Lucy looked over at the others, she saw that both Will and Gilan were feeling the effects as well. Only Halt remained unchanged.

No one said anything as they continued to ride. Lucy was tense, the hairs on the back of her neck were standing. She felt something, but couldn't quite place what it was. It felt somewhat similar to when she and Team Erza were doing the Nirvana mission. There was that kind of feeling in the air, but it was different, that at least was magical. This sensation . . . it was like the air itself had a presence. Next to her, Will stood in his stirrups, looking unsettled as he scanned the horizon.

"So you've noticed them," said Halt. "It's the Stones."

As soon as it was said, Lucy realized that's what it had been, a low, barely perceptible noise. She wasn't looking forward to getting any closer to the sound. The rest of the day didn't get any more pleasant. The landscape seemed to be unchanging as they traveled across the Plains. The only real way they could tell they were going anywhere at all, was the fact that the sound of the Stones was gradually growing louder throughout the day. The constant sound sent both Will and Lucy's nerves on edge. They were grateful when Halt announced that it was time for them to rest for the night as the sun began to set, exhausted from the forced march pace.

"It's almost impossible to maintain a constant course in the dark. Without any significant land features to set a course by, we could easily wind up going around in circles." Will started looking for something to build a fire with, but Halt stopped him. "No fire. We'd be visible for miles and we have no idea who might be watching."

" . . . You mean the Kalkara?" Will asked, pausing.

"Them, or the Plains people. We can't be sure that some them aren't in league with the Kalkara. After all, living cheek by jowl with creatures like that, you might well end up cooperating with them, just to ensure your own safety. And we don't want them getting word that there are strangers on the Plain."

Will, Lucy, and Gilan unsaddled their steeds and began rubbing them down.

"You don't think we've been seen already?" asked Gilan.

Halt considered the question for a few moments. "We might have been. There are just too many unknowns here . . . like where the Kalkara actually have their lair, whether or not the Plains people are their allies, whether or not any of them have seen us and reported our presence. But until I know we have been seen, we'll assume we haven't. So, no fire."

Gilan nodded in agreement reluctantly. "You're right, of course. It's just I'd happily kill someone for a cup of coffee."

"Light a fire to brew it, and you might end up having to just that," Halt told him seriously.

"We could have cold brew," Lucy suggested.

The two rangers and her fellow apprentice exchanged looks. "Cold brew?" asked Gilan.

Lucy nodded. "During the summer, iced tea and coffee is very popular in Fiore. You just seep the grounds with cold water instead of hot water."

"Well . . . I suppose it's better than nothing," said Gilan, beginning to make some cold brew coffee.

They had a supper of meal-bread, dried fruit, and cold meat once more, all washed down with cold coffee. Lucy and Will were starting to hate the sight of nearly tasteless rations they carried. Halt took the first watch while the other three wrapped themselves up in their cloaks and slept. Will would take the second watch, and Gilan would have third, meaning Lucy could sleep the whole night. Halt and Gilan wanted her at full strength for when they fought the Kalkara.

By mid-morning the next day, they saw the Stone was a gray and surprising small circle of granite monoliths that stood atop a rise in the Plain. Their course took them about a kilometer to one side of the Stones. The wailing keening was louder than ever.

"Next flute player I meet, I'm going to split his lip for him," Gilan said with grim humor.

"I don't know about that," said Lucy. "but I'm definitely going to be summoning Lyra."

They continued to ride for hours on end, the same tall grass everywhere they looked, and the now gradually receding sound of the Stone Flutes behind them. A Plainsmen suddenly rose from the grass about fifty meters away from them. He was small, dressed in gray rags and had long unkempt hair that hung to his shoulders. His mad eyes glared at them for several seconds. Will and Lucy had barely recovered from the shock before the man was off, bent double and running through the grass, seeming to sink into it. Within seconds, he was gone. Both Gilan and Halt had prepped their bows, but neither had drawn.

Gilan looked at Halt curiously. "May mean nothing," Halt said with a shrug. "Or maybe he's off to tell the Kalkara. But we can hardly kill him on suspicion.

Gilan let out a bark of laughter. "I suppose there's no difference, whether we find the Kalkara or they find us."

Halt fixed his gaze on his former student with no sign of shared humor. "Believe me, Gilan, there's a big difference."

The abandoned their forced-march pace after that, walking their horses slowly through the tall grass. The sound of the Stone Flutes was fading, much to their relief, as the wind was now carrying the sound away from them. After riding in silence for a bit longer, Will decided to ask a question that had been nagging at him for awhile now.

"Halt?" he began. When Halt turned to him with raised eyebrows, he took it as a sign to continue. "Why do you think Morgarath has enlisted the Kalkara? What does he stand to gain?"

Gilan and Lucy waited for the answer as well as the grizzled Ranger gathered his thoughts. He was a bit reluctant as the answer would depend almost entirely on guesswork and intuition. "Who knows why Morgarath ever does anything. I can't give you a definite answer. All I can tell you is what I assume . . . and what Crowley thinks as well."

Once he saw that his companions were still waiting for his answer, he continued. "There's a war coming. That much is already obvious. The Wargals are on the move and we've heard that Morgarath had been in contact with Ragnak. Ragnak is the Oberjarl, or supreme lord, if you like, of the Skandians, the sea wolves. This is obviously going to be a bigger war than we've fought before and we're going to need all our resources . . . and our best commanders to lead us. I think that's what Morgarath has in mind. He's seeking to weaken us by having the Kalkara kill our leaders. Northolt, the supreme army commander, and Lorriac, our best cavalry commander, have gone already. Certainly there will be other men who will step into those positions but there will inevitably be some confusion in the changeover period, some loss of cohesion. I think that's what's behind Morgarath's plan."

"So, Lucy's intuition was correct," said Gilan. Halt raised a brow, so Gilan took that as a sign to elaborate. "While you were in the command tent, Merron told us about Lorriac and Northolt. Lucy thought that it was very strange that with a potential war coming, two top military leaders suddenly die. She thought they were connected."

When Halt looked at Lucy for confirmation, she nodded. He was honestly impressed. The girl had a sharp mind, she'd made the connection quickly. The longer he spent training her, the more he found that she was nearly perfect to be a Ranger . . . apart from her temper.

"There's another aspect as well," Gilan added. "Both those men were instrumental in his defeat last time. He's destroying our command structure and getting revenge at the same time."

Halt nodded in agreement. "That's true, of course. And to a twisted mind like Morgarath's, revenge a powerful motive."

"So you think there'll be more killings?" asked Will.

Halt met his eyes. "I think there'll be more attempts. Morgarath has sent them out twice with targets and they've succeeded. I don't see any reason why they won't go after others. Morgarath has reason to hate a lot of people in the kingdom. The King himself, perhaps. Or maybe Baron Arald . . . he caused Morgarath some grief in the last war."

"One thing I don't understand. Why do the Kalkara keep returning to their hideout? Why not just move from one victim to the next?" asked Gilan.

"I suppose that's one of the few advantages we do have," Halt told him. "They're savage and merciless and more intelligent than Wargals. But they're not human. They are totally single-minded. Show them a victim and they'll hunt him down and kill him or die themselves in the attempt. But they can only keep track of one victim at a time. Between killings, they'll return to their lair. Then Morgarath, or one of his underlings, will prime them for their next victim and they'll head out again. Our best hope is to intercept them on the way if they've been given a new target. Or kill them in their lair if they haven't. Sun's going down," he said. "We may as well camp here."

They dismounted and loosened the girth of the saddles. "That's one thing about this blasted place," Gilan said as he looked around. "One spot is as good as another to camp. Or as bad."

An hour after they fell asleep. Lucy would be woken up by Halt. Will and Gilan were already up. She slowly got up, trying to avoid making any noise, seeing that something was wrong. There wasn't any immediate danger, as no one had their weapons out. They were listening to something.

"There it is again," Halt said softly, pointing to the north.

Will and Lucy heard it then. Above the moaning of the Stone Flutes and the soughing of the wind through the tall, dry grass, was a high-pitched, bestial howl that ululated and climbed in pitch and froze the blood in Will's veins. It was an inhuman sound from the throat of the monster. Not long after, another howl answered the first. It was deeper than the first and came from a position left of the first.

"It's the Kalkara," Halt said with a grim expression. "They have a new target and they're hunting."


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Fairy Tail or Ranger's Apprentice.

The four companions had a sleepless night as the howls of the hunting Kalkara faded as the beasts headed north. When they had first heard the howls, Gilan had moved to saddle Blaze. Halt gestured for him to stop.

"I'm not going after those things in the dark. We'll wait till first light, then look for their tracks," he stated.

When morning came, the tracks were easy to find, and the Kalkara had made no attempt to conceal them. The tall grass had been crushed by their heavy bodies, leaving a clear trail for the two rangers and two apprentices to follow heading east-northeast. The Kalkara were traveling parallel to each other, about a quarter of a kilometer away from each other. Close enough to provide support, and far away enough to avoid any traps set for its brother.

Halt considered this for a few moments before coming to a decision. "Gilan, you and Lucy follow the second one, Will and I will follow this one. I want to make sure they both keep heading in the same direction. I don't want one of them doubling back to come behind us."

"You think they know we're here?" asked Will, trying to keep his voice steady.

"They could. There's been time for that Plainsman we saw to have warned them. Or maybe it's just coincidence and they're heading out on their next mission." Halt glanced at the trail left by the Kalkara. "They certainly seem to have a purpose. In any event, keep your eyes peeled and pay attention to Blaze. The horses will sense those beasts before we will. We don't want to run into an ambush."

Gilan nodded and swung Blaze towards the second trail. Lucy followed suit. At Halt's signal, they began riding forward. The ride was pretty uneventful on Lucy and Gilan's end. After awhile, they heard a whistle of three ascending notes. Lucy looked at Gilan in confusion. He shrugged and answered the whistle with three descending notes. Will and Halt became visible again and Gilan raised his arms in question. The moved on when Halt waved it off.

"Wonder what that was about," said Gilan.

"Maybe they couldn't see us and were worried something happened," Lucy suggested, having noticed that Will and Gilan had disappeared from sight from time to time due to the slight dips and the undulating grass.

"Huh, you could be right. Maybe you should keep an eye on them, just in case," said Gilan.

Lucy nodded.

Once they got closer to the Stone Flutes, Halt signaled for them to regroup. He explained the situation, that he believed the Kalkara might be using the Stones as cover and could be lurking there. They split up and rode slowly towards the Stones from four different directions to form a wide perimeter. But the landmark was empty.

"This is taking us too long. As long as we can see their trails for a couple of hundred meters ahead, we'll move faster. Slow down when you come to a rise or any time when the trail isn't visible for more than fifty meters." Hat stated.

Gilan nodded and he and Lucy resumed their wide position. They were now urging their horses on at a canter. Lucy maintained a watch on Halt and Will, as Will maintained a watch on them. Halt or Gilan would whistle whenever the visible trail diminished and they would slow to a walk. They camped again once it was nighttime, as Halt still refused to track the Kalkara in the dark, even though the light of the moon made the tracks easy to follow.

"Too easy for them to double back in the dark. I want plenty of warning when they finally come at us," said Halt.

"You think they will?" asked Will.

Halt smiled reassuringly at his younger pupil. "Always assume an enemy knows you're there and that he will attack you. That way, you tend to avoid unpleasant surprises. It can still be unpleasant, but at least it's not a surprise."

They continued following the trail in the morning, repeating the same thing they had been doing the other day. By early afternoon, the tracks had led them to the edge of the Solitary Plains and to the wooded country to the north of the Mountains of Rain and Night. There, they found that the two Kalkara had joined each other, no longer traveling parallel. The trail itself maintained direction, east-northeast. An hour after following this track, Halt reined in Abelard and signaled for the others to dismount so they could have a small conference. Halt rolled out a map of the kingdom.

"Judging from their tracks, we've made some time on them. But they're still a good half day ahead of us. Now, this is the direction they're following." Halt took an arrow and laid it on the map so it was orientated in the direction the Kalkara had been heading for the past two days and nights. "As you can see, if they keep going in this direction, there are only two places of any significance that they could be heading for. Here, the Gorlan Ruins. Or farther north, Castle Araluen itself," he stated, indicating the locations on the map.

Gilan drew in a sharp breath. "Castle Araluen? You don't think they'd dare try for King Duncan?"

Halt shook his head. "I simply don't know. We don't know nearly enough about these beasts and half of what we think we know is probably myth and legend. But you've got to admit, it would be a bold stroke, a masterstroke, and Morgarath has never been averse to that sort of thing." He let the other three digest the information before tracing a line from their current position to the northwest. "Now, I've been thinking. Look, here's Castle Redmont. Perhaps a day's ride away, and then another day to here," he said, tracing a line from Castle Redmont to the Gorlan ruins. "One person, riding hard, and using two horses, could make it in less than a day to Redmont, and then lead the Baron and Sir Rodney here, to the Ruins. If the Kalkara keep moving at the pace they are, we might just be able to intercept them there. It'll be close, but it's possible. And with two warriors like Arald and Rodney on hand, we'll stand a far better chance of stopping the damn things once and for all."

Gilan interrupted. "One moment, Halt. You said one person, riding two horses?"

Halt met Gilans gaze. "That's right, Gilan. And the lightest one among us will travel the fastest. I want you to turn Blaze over to Will. If he alternates between Tug and your horse, he can do it in the time."

Gilan looked reluctant to hand over his horse, and Halt understood perfectly. Lucy saw this and chose to make the sacrifice, though they both saw the reason in handing over one of their horses. Will's eyes were wide in alarm at the thought of the responsibility thrust onto him.

"What if I gave Will Celeste?" she asked.

"No, you need a ride as well. We need your magic abilities if Will can't make it time with Sir Rodney and Baron Arald, so we can't afford to have you slowed down."

" . . . Alright," said Lucy, looking at the ground, feeling pretty useless at the moment.

Reluctantly, Gilan agreed. "I suppose it makes sense. So what do you want me to do?"

"Follow behind me on foot. If you can get hold of a horse anywhere, do so and catch up with me. Otherwise, we'll rendezvous at Gorlan. If we miss the Kalkara there, Will can wait for you, with Blaze. I'll keep following the Kalkara with Lucy until you all catch up with me." Halt said while rolling up the chart and returning it to his saddlebag.

Gilan nodded his acceptance. "I thought you said my sword might come in handy?" he asked ruefully.

"I did, but this gives me a chance to bring in two fully armored knights, with axes and lances. And you know that's the best way to fight the Kalkara." Halt replied.

"True . . . " said Gilan before knotting the reins of Blaze's bridle and tossing them over the bay's neck. He turned to Will. "You may as well start out on Tug. That'll give Blaze a chance to rest. He'll follow behind you without a lead rein and so will Tug when you're riding Blaze. Tie up the reins like this on Tug's neck so they don't dangle down and snag anything . . . Oh yes, before you mount him the first time, remember to say Brown Eyes."

"Brown Eyes." Will repeated.

Gilan couldn't help but grin. "Not to me. To the horse."

They all smiled at the old Ranger joke. Halt brought them back to the matter at hand. "Will? You're confident you can find your way to Redmont?"

Will nodded, touching the pocket where he kept his own map. He glanced at the sun for direction. "Northwest." He said, pointing in the direction.

Halt nodded in satisfaction. "You'll strike the Salmon River before dusk, that will give you a good reference point. And the main highway is just a little way west of the river. Keep to a steady canter all the way. Don't try to race the horses, you'll just tire them out that way and you'll be slower in the long run. Travel safely now," he said before mounting Abelard as Will mounted Tug.

"Stay safe, Will," Lucy said before mounting Celeste.

Gilan pointed to Will and spoke to Blaze. "Follow, Blaze. Follow." The Ranger horse tossed his head in acknowledgment.

Before they separated, Will asked one more question that had been bothering him. "Halt, the Gorlan Ruins . . . what exactly are they?"

"It's ironic isn't it? They're the ruins of Castle Gorlan, Morgarath's former fiefdom." Halt answered.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Fairy Tail or Ranger's Apprentice.

Lucy and Halt continued following the Kalkara's tracks after separating from Will and Gilan. It wasn't until late afternoon when they realized something was wrong. The trail, which had been previously undeviating from its path to the northeast changed as the two Kalkara suddenly separated, each turning ninety degrees and moving in different directions into the forest that surrounded them. They had also started concealing their tracks, so that only Halt, as a Ranger, could still follow them as Lucy was not a skilled enough tracker yet.

Lucy noticed the change in his expression, and the change in the tracks bothered her as well. "Halt, what's going on? Why did they change course all of a sudden and start hiding their tracks?"

Halt looked over at the blonde mage and could see the concern etched clearly on her face. He was reluctant to give her answer, not wanting to worry her any more, but she deserved to know. "The Kalkara are hunting me."

She instantly became fearful, not of the Kalkara per se, but for him. "What do we do?"

"There's only one thing we can do, keep our guard up and be prepared for an attack." Halt said grimly. "They're hunting me, you could backtrack and get Gilan-" he started to say before Lucy interrupted him.

"No! I'm not leaving your side!" she said, her normally warm, honey brown eyes hard and determined. "If they really are hunting you, then you're in danger, I can help you!"

Halt was silent as he looked at her. It was easy to see that she wasn't budging on this matter. He was both bothered and relieved. On one hand, he didn't want to risk her against the Kalkara, as they could both very well end up dying. On the other hand, he was grateful that he wouldn't have to fight them alone. He gave in, even though it might be a bad idea.

As they would later find out, it had been a very good thing that Lucy had decided to stay with Halt, rather than go back for Gilan. As the Gorlan Ruins were close by, they decided to make a stand there. Halt knew the Kalkara would come after him once night fell, so he prepared a bonfire using half a jar of cooking oil and a pile of deadfall wood. He prepared several torches and kept them burning as long as possible when darkness fell. He declined Lucy's offer to get Virgo to make pitfalls, stating that Will, Rodney, and Arald might fall prey to them just as easily as the Kalkara. He put his back to the wall and had Lucy in a different position, keeping her within his sight, and he hers, but hopefully where the Kalkara wouldn't see her as easily.

They sensed the Kalkara before they saw them, two shambling figures, darker patches against the darkness of the trees. Halt had jammed a lit torch into the wall behind him to make sure they saw their target, him, immediately. They screamed their hunting cries and Halt tossed the torch onto the oil soaked wood. It burst into flames. The Kalkara hesitated for a moment, before charging at Ranger, who was nowhere near the flames. Halt began firing arrows at them. Given another hundred meters, Halt might have been able to stop them both. He saw Lucy fire a couple arrows from his peripheral. They simply glanced off of the hardened fur of the Kalkara, her bow not nearly as strong as Halt's. She quickly gave up and summoned Sagittarius. Halt couldn't believe that the Kalkara kept coming under his hail of arrows, but was further shocked when he saw three streaks of light come from of Sagittarius' bow and ram into Kalkara, knocking it onto its back, but it didn't pierce its fur.

Unfortunately, the second Kalkara was almost on him and its massive, taloned paw smashed the bow from his hand. Another volley of light arrows knocked it down, giving him time to escape onto the ruined wall. But the second Kalkara got right back up and clawed after him. Halt drew his saxe knife and tried to strike at the terrible head. The beast was faster and the knife glanced off of one of its forearms. Lucy, seeing that Sagittarius' arrows weren't doing much, she dismissed him and summoned Taurus, nearly dropping his key in her rush. During that time, Halt's eyes met the beast's hate-filled red eyes and he froze in terror, unable to hear Lucy shouting his name. The Kalkara's howl of pain mixed with the battle shout of Taurus as he swung his giant two-headed axe into the Kalkara's back and Halt was freed from the Kalkara's paralyzing gaze. He staggered, losing his saxe knife as he felt the hot, searing pain of the beast's bear-like claws ripping his flesh down the length of his thigh during its final moments of life.

The force of the impact shook the ground, causing part of the rubble to fall and hit Lucy on the head. She collapsed, unconscious, and Taurus disappeared. The second Kalkara dead, Halt took the risk and limped to his apprentice, dragging her with him to through the maze-like ruins to evade the injured Kalkara.

As the situation currently stood, he was huddled over Lucy beneath two pieces of masonry that formed an A-shaped refuge, hidden in a shallow indentation in the ground, his cloak concealing them both. A rough bandage was around Lucy's head, where she had received the head wound. He was amazed that the rubble that had fallen didn't kill her, but without her, he would most likely no longer be breathing right now. So Halt was currently laying half on top of her, protecting her. He was unarmed, and his own roughly bandaged injury kept him from going anywhere too fast. Lucy was unconscious, her magic not longer able to help him.

His only hope now was that Will would arrive with Baron Arald and Sir Rodney. If they could evade the beast until then, they might have a chance. He tried not to think of the possibility that Gilan would arrive before them, alone and armed with only his bow and sword. Considering both he and Lucy had nearly died, Halt now knew that one man had little chance of surviving. If Gilan got there before the knights, all three of them would die here. Thankfully, all that was left was the injured one. Or so he had thought.

He felt his blood run cold as he heard the howl of a third Kalkara. They had been wrong. There hadn't been two left, but three. He didn't know where it had come from, but it had not been with the other two. The future was suddenly looking very bleak for them. He only had a small throwing knife, and Lucy's saxe to defend himself and his unconscious apprentice with.

The new Kalkara joined the first and started quartering the old courtyard and began searching for them in a methodical pattern, back and forth, examining every space, every cranny, and every possible hiding spot. Halt knew that it was only a matter of time before the Kalkara found them, and when that happened, both he and Lucy were dead. He could hear the beast's rasping breath as it moved closer to their hiding spot.

That's when he heard it, the heavy drumming of battle horses' hooves. He looked up to watch the Kalkara. The beast heard it too, judging by its erect stance and they way its face was turned towards the sound. The horses stopped. There was a ringing scream as the mortally wounded Kalkara he'd shot challenged its new enemies. The horses moved again, gaining speed. Then there was the horrifying scream and a gigantic red flash as the injured Kalkara must have been thrust into the bonfire.

Halt began to inch back, taking Lucy with him. It probably wasn't the best decisions, but he was hoping to get Lucy into a safer hiding spot, then he was hoping to outflank the creature. He realized this wasn't an option as the new Kalkara moved stealthily towards the tumbled masonry that formed a rough stairway to the top of the wall. It would only be a few minutes before it would be in position to drop on his unsuspecting friends. He had to stop it. If he didn't, they would all be dead anyway.

Clear of the hiding place now, he took Lucy's saxe knife and ran across the courtyard, dodging and weaving among the rubble. He'd only gone half a dozen paces before it turned to him. He froze as he once again met their red-hate filled eyes. The creature shambled towards him. He forced his eyes to close and his brows furrowed concentration as he raised Lucy's saxe knife.

Lucy woke to see one of the Kalkara shamblings towards Halt . . . as he simply stood there, saxe knife raised. Not knowing what he was doing, Lucy shouted out his name, causing his eyes to snap open right before she barreled into him, knocking him out of the way of the Kalkara.

"Lucy, what are you-!?" he started to demand as they both shot to their feet.

She staggered slightly, lightheaded and woozy from her head wound, and she felt like throwing up. But she forced herself through it and grabbed the cylinder at her belt. "Fleuve d'etoiles!" she called out.

Halt vaguely registered that as Gallic for, "River of Stars" before that's exactly what seemed to shoot out of the cylinder in her hand. Even the Kalkara seemed shocked. She swung the stream of magical stars at the beast and it elongated and wrapped around the beast. Then she yanked him to the side and into the wall. It would stall the beast, but it wouldn't stop it. Lucy grabbed his hand ran for the wall so she could find a way down.

"Where's the injured one?" asked Lucy as they scrambled up the rocks.

"Dead." he answered.

Will saw Halt and Lucy, the two illuminated faintly by the magical glowing, sparkling whip in Lucy's hand. "Halt! Lucy!" he shouted so the two knights saw them as well.

Hearing him shout, Lucy and Halt paused on the wall. Sir Rodney and Baron Arald were shocked by her magical whip, but Will wasn't as he knew Lucy had magic, he just didn't know about the whip. Then a hulking shape appeared only a few meters behind them on the wall. Being thrown into the rubble had hurt it a little, but not much.

Baron Arald, realizing the two were in danger, quickly snapped his from his state of shock and dragged his huge broadsword from its saddle scabbard and ran towards the ruins. "Get back, Will!" he shouted as he advanced.

Will nervously edged Tug back to the fringe of the trees. On the wall, Halt and Lucy heard the shout and saw Baron Arald running forward. Sir Rodney was close behind him, whirring a huge battle-axe in circles around his head.

"Jump! Halt, Lucy! Jump!" Baron Arald shouted.

They needed no further invitation, but Halt's leg was already injured, and Lucy felt that the drop was far greater than it was. Rather than risk further injury to themselves, and Halt not wanting to leave Lucy behind, Lucy grabbed him around the waist, telling him to hold on. She swung her whip so that it wrapped around what looked like a stable piece of rubble before jumping. Halt had been startled when she grabbed him, even more so when she jumped. They swung down and just as their swing started taking them upwards, she released the whips hold and they only fell a couple feet to the ground.

Lucy needed Halt's support to stagger towards the knights, having to pause to throw up. Perhaps, swinging down when she had a concussion wasn't the best idea. Halt didn't give her much reprieve as he forced her forward with him. The Kalkara hesitated a moment before releasing a bloodcurdling scream in challenge as it leaped after them, it's powerful legs driving it forward and up, covering the ground that Halt and Lucy had managed to put between them and it. The Kalkara swung it's massive arm, catching both Halt and Lucy. They rolled forward, both losing consciousness, Lucy's magical whip falling from her hand and immediately returning to a regular cylinder.

The beast fortunately had no time finish them off as the two knights stepped up to meet it, Baron Arald's broadsword swinging in a deadly arc for its neck. This Kalkara was fast and ducked under the blow, then slammed its talons against Arald's back before he could recover from the missed swing. The talons cut through the chainmail as if were wool and he grunted in pained surprise as the force of the blow drove him to his knees, losing his grip on his broadsword as blood streamed from six deep gashes on his back.

If Sir Rodney hadn't been there, the Baron would have died. He whirled the heavy war axe easily and crashed it into the Kalkara's side. It's thick, matted fur protected it, but it was staggered by the force of the blow. It screamed in fury as it reeled back. Sir Rodney continued advancing, placing himself between the Kalkara and the unmoving figures of Lucy, Halt, and Baron Arald. He set his feet and drew his war axe back for another staggering blow.

Then the weapon fell from his grasp as he met the Kalkara's gaze, leaving him unable to think and unable to move. The beast screamed it's victory to the sky. Believing it was deserved this moment of triumph, it screamed again. But it was these moments that would cost it its life.

Will, who had been watching in horror from afar, got an idea on how to save them. He coated an arrowhead in pitch and lit it on fire. Drawing the bow back to its full length until the fire singed his fingers, adjusted for the extra weight of the pitch, and fired. The Kalkara saw a flash of light and turned to look. The wind of the arrow flying through the air doused the fire to embers, but as the arrow embedded itself into the matted, waxed fur of the Kalkara's chest, the flame roared to life, the fire spreading over the Kalkara faster than a wildfire.

It screamed in agony and terror, trying to beat out the fire but only serving to spread it. The screams rose in pitch as it was burned alive in fire fueled by the very thing that protected it . . . and then there was silence. They had won, they had survived. The Kalkara were extinct.


	18. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Fairy Tail or Ranger's Apprentice.

Will and Lucy were sitting at a table at the inn in Wensley village with Horace, Alyss, and Jenny. It was full of laughter and music as the innkeeper plied them with roast goose, farm fresh vegetables, and a delicious blueberry pie that even won Jenny's approval. The celebration had been Horace's idea, and the girls had seized the opportunity to take a break from their usual day-to-day lives.

Word of their battle with the Kalkara had spread like wildfire, an apt simile when one thought about it. When Will and Lucy entered the inn, a hush had fallen over the room. Will's face began reddening and he quickly became grateful for the cowl hiding his features. Lucy, however, had no such protection.

Jenny was quick to react, breaking the silence and drawing attention from the two. "Come on, you solemn lot! Let's have some music in here! And some chatter if you please!" she added the latter suggestion with a meaningful glance at the other patrons.

The musicians quickly began playing a local folk tune and the other occupants of the inn gradually returned to their own conversations after realizing they were making the two teenagers uncomfortable, though they did occasionally cast a glance in their direction, amazed at the feat people so young had accomplished. The five teenagers took their seats at a table at the back of the room where they could talk in relative peace.

"George sent his apologies," Alyss told the two as they took their seats. "He's snowed under with paperwork, the entire Scribeschool is working day and night.

Will and Lucy nodded their understanding. With the impending war with Morgarath, the need to mobilize troops and call on old alliances would have understandably created a mountain of paperwork. It was hard to believe it had been only ten days since the battle against the Kalkara, so much had happened.

Making a camp by the ruins, Will and Rodney had tended to Arald, Halt, and Lucy's wounds before they settling into a restful sleep. Gilan arrived the next morning on the back of a plow horse and was more than happy to reclaim Blaze. Once he was sure his former mentor was safe and gotten Will to promise to return the plow horse, he set off to his own fief. Naturally, given what Baron Arald and Sir Rodney had seen the previous night, they had to explain about Lucy's magical abilities.

Later that day, Will, Halt, Rodney, Arald, and a concussed Lucy returned to Castle Redmont, where they were swept into the constant activity of preparing the castle's fighters for war. There were a thousand and one details to be handled, summons to be sent out, and messages delivered. With Halt recovering and Lucy concussed, a lot of the work had fallen to Will, despite how much Lucy tried and wanted to help. He realized that during a time when war was almost upon them, Rangers had little chance for relaxation, which made tonight that much more of a welcome diversion.

The innkeeper bustled to their table and set down five glass tankards and a jug of nonalcoholic ginger root beer. "No charge for this table tonight. We're privileged to have you in our establishment, Rangers." He called one of the serving boys to attend to their table. "And be quick about it!"

Alyss raised a brow in surprise. "Nice to be with celebrities. Old Skinner usually holds on to a coin so tight, the king's head suffocates."

Lucy laughed, her chest puffing with pride. If she was honest, she liked the recognition. It was something she wanted while she was Fairy Tail but never got because the others were so amazing and overshadowed her. Sure, as a Heartfilia, she got some fame, but only because of her father. She didn't want her fame to come from her father, she wanted her fame to come from her own capabilities.

Will made a dismissive gesture. "People exaggerate things," he said.

Horace wasn't about to let either of them off that easily. "So, tell us about the fight."

"I can't believe how brave you two were! I would have been terrified." Jenny said while looking at them with wide eyes.

"Actually, I was petrified." Will told them ruefully. "The Baron, Sir Rodney, and Lucy were the brave ones. Baron Arald and Sir Rodney charged in and took those creatures on at close quarters, and Lucy took them on with just her whip. I was forty or fifty meters away the whole time."

He had Lucy tell her part of the story first. She had to modify parts of the story so it left out her Spirits. So instead of Taurus killing the second Kalkara, it was her using her leather whip to pull the Kalkara back into the fire to save Halt from being paralyzed by the Kalkara's gaze, and she was unlucky enough to be under a piece of rubble that came loose and fell on her head, instead of the impact of Taurus's axe weakening the rubble, causing it to fall. For the part of the story when Lucy and Halt had to get off the wall, they jumped, instead of swinging down using a magical whip. Then Will took over with his part of the story about how the Baron thrust the injured Kalkara into the bonfire, and what about what happened after the Kalkara jumped after Lucy and Halt. The other three listened with rapt attention.

Horace shook his head in admiration as Will described his ride to get help. "Those Ranger horses must be a breed apart."

Will couldn't resist the jibe that popped into his head. "The trick is staying on them," he said with a grin.

He was pleased to see Horace grin in return. Lucy grinned as well. Both Will and Horace had matured a lot since those days, and their friendship had come a long way as well. It was a pleasant evening for everyone, but especially so for the two Ranger apprentices.

As the servers cleared their table, Jenny smiled expectantly at the two boys. "Right! Now who's going to dance with me?" she asked with a bright smile.

Will was too slow to respond and Horace claimed her hand before leading her to the dance floor. He glanced nervously at Alyss. Will could never tell what she was thinking but thought it might be polite to ask for a dance as well.

"Um . . . would you like to dance too, Alyss?" he asked awkwardly.

She gave him the barest trace of a smile. "Perhaps not, Will. I'm no great shakes as a dancer. I seem to be all legs."

Will nodded several times and they fell into a friendly silence. Lucy stood from the table and went over to a cute looking boy to ask him to dance. He blushed and stammered a bit, shocked that someone like her was asking him to dance, but he eventually was able to stammer out a positive answer. This left Will alone at the table with Alyss.

After some minutes, she turned to him to consider him closely. "A big day for you tomorrow," she said, causing him to flush.

He had to be at the Baron's court the next day. "I don't know what that's all about."

She smiled at him. "He possibly wants to thank you in public. I'm told barons tend to do that to people who have saved their lives." Will opened his mouth to say something, but she put her hand on his and he stopped. Alyss leaned closer and whispered, "We're all proud of you, Will. And I think I'm proudest of all." Then she kissed his lips.

Unfortunately, Lucy had seen the kiss, so on the way back to the cabin, she seized the opportunity to tease him. "You like herrrr," she purred, rolling her Rs.

"What?!" Will exclaimed, face reddening.

"I saw you and Alyss kiss," she teased.

She continued to tease him until it was time for them to sleep.

• • •

Lucy was sitting in the Baron's audience hall watching a stage-fright frozen Will. Baron Arald stood at the far end in his finest robes. She saw Halt shove Will forward to get him moving. There were hundreds of people in the Great Hall and every eye on Will. All of the Craftmasters were there in their official robes, all of the knights and all the ladies of the court, every one of them had on their best and finest clothes. Farther down the hall were the men-at-arms from the Baron's army, the other apprentices and the trademasters from the village. Halt shoved him again before limping to his seat.

Finally, Will began walking down the long aisle. Lucy heard people start whispering his name, and then clapping broke out. It started from one Lady and spread through the entire audience, even Lucy. It continued until he reached the Baron's chair. She watched as Will dropped to one knee and bowed his head forward. Baron Arald raised his hands for silence and the clapping died down.

"Stand up, Will," he told him softly, reaching out his hand to help him up. Will obeyed and Baron Arald rested a hand on his shoulder, turning him to face the huge crowd. "This is Will. Apprentice to the Ranger Halt of this fiefdom. See him now and know him, all of you. He has proven his fidelity, courage, and initiative to this fief and to the Kingdom of Araluen."

A round of clapping broke out again, this time accompanied by cheers that started where the Battleschool warriors were, Horace leading them. Baron Arald once again held up his hand for silence, wincing as the movement pained his cracked ribs and carefully sutured and bandaged back. Again, the clapping and cheering died down.

"Will, I owe you my life. There can be no thanks adequate for that. However, it is in my power to grant you a wish that you once made of me." Baron Arald stated.

Will looked up at him. "A wish, sir?" he asked.

The Baron nodded. "I made a mistake, Will. You asked me if you could train as a warrior. It was your wish to become one of my knights and I refused you. Now, I can rectify that mistake. It would do me honor to have one so brave and resourceful as one of my knights. Say the word now and you have my permission to transfer to the Battleschool as one of Sir Rodney's apprentices."

Sir Rodney stepped forward then, and Baron Arald gestured for him to speak. "My Lord, it was I who refused this boy as an apprentice, as you know. Now, I want all here to know that I was wrong to do so. I, my knights, and my apprentices all agree that there could be a no more worthy member of the Battleschool than Will!"

The assembled knights and warriors gave a roar of approval, raising their now unsheathed swords above their heads, shouting his name as they clashed their swords together. Horace was the first to start and the first to stop. Lucy, however, was reluctant to do any cheering. She didn't want Will to go to Battleschool. She enjoyed training with him, and she'd be lonely again if he left. But, ultimately, it was his decision and she'd stand by it, whatever he chose.

The noise died down and the warriors resheathed their swords. At the Baron's signal, two pages came forward, bearing with them a sword and a beautifully enameled shield, both of which they laid at Will's feet. The shield bore the crest of a fiercely painted boar's head.

"This will be your coat of arms when you graduate, Will, to remind the world of the first time we learned of your courage and loyalty to a comrade." Baron Arald told Will.

Will went down on one knee and touched the surface of the shield before drawing the sword from its scabbard. The blade was razor sharp with a slightly blue hue. The hilt and crosspiece were inlaid with gold and the boar's head symbol was repeated on the pommel. He glanced from the beautiful, jeweled sword to the plain leather grip of his Ranger knife.

"They're a knight's weapons, Will. But you've proved over and again that you're worthy of them. Just say the word and they're yours." Arald urged.

Will resheathed the sword and stood up. He seemed to ponder the offer before him for a moment, before turning to Baron Arald. "I am a Ranger, my Lord."

Lucy grinned happily as the crowd murmured in surprise. The Baron stepped closer to Will to speak with him. He was most likely asking if Will was okay with his decision.

Will shook his head. "I thank you for the honor, my Lord." He looked over at the Sir Rodney, who was smiling and nodding in approval. "And I thank the Battlemaster and his knights for their generous offer. But I am a Ranger . . . . . I mean no offense by this, my Lord." Will finished awkwardly.

The Baron grinned and took Will's hand. "And I take none, Will. None at all! Your loyalty to your craft and your Craftmaster does honor to you and to all of us who know you!" he declared, giving Will's hand a final, firm shake before releasing his grip.

Will bowed and turned around and began walking down that long aisle, and again, cheering started. Lucy watched with a grin as he walked with his head held high in pride. As he neared the end of the hall, he stopped. Lucy looked to see what it was and her jaw dropped when she did. Halt was smiling.

Later, Will and Lucy were sitting on the veranda looking at their bronze oak leaf pendants, a sign that they were Ranger apprentices, as Halt explained it to them. When they finished their training, they would receive silver ones. Both of them couldn't help feeling pride. Oddly, Lucy couldn't help but look forward to the day when she became a full fledged Ranger. She realized, with some amount of shock, that she actually wanted to become a Ranger.

She was starting to feel almost at home in this world. Lucy supposed this was for the best, considering she had six more years to go before she could go home. The question was . . . would she want to go back?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of Volume One. Watch for the Volume Two.


End file.
